Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Won't Be Allowed on the Balcony

Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Prince William, Kate Middleton — (Image credit: Anwar Hussein / WireImage for Getty Images)

It's official-ish.

King Charles will only allow working members of the Royal Family to stand on the Buckingham Palace balcony on the day of his coronation, sources have told the Mirror.

If this report is correct, this will exclude Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who had allegedly asked to appear alongside working royals on the balcony.

This new development is in line with royal experts' previous predictions. For one, Angela Mollard has said in no uncertain terms, "There is no chance they’re going to be on the balcony.

"The Queen wanted a slimmed-down monarchy. Charles is further enforcing that. He has dealt beautifully with Andrew, and they need to turn around and say there’s no chance they’ll get a place on that balcony."

According to the Mirror, the King will be flanked by "just his closest and most loyal family members" as he greets well-wishers from the balcony. This will of course also exclude Prince Andrew, who has been disgraced among accusations of sexual assault.

Per plans for the event seen by the publication, Charles' aim is to showcase "the heartbeat and future of his family," i.e. high-ranking relatives such as the Prince and Princess of Wales. There will apparently be 15 people on the balcony, which will include Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—three of the King's five grandchildren.

Meanwhile, we still don't know whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will even be in attendance at the coronation in the first place.

With exactly a month to go until the event, the Sussexes have yet to reveal whether they will be making the trip over to the U.K. to witness the proceedings. For the sake of the organizers, I do hope they've at least privately RSVPd.

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Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.