Prince William Not Expected to Invite Prince Harry to His Coronation

(Image credit: Getty)

published 16 May 2023

Princes William and Harry once seemed to have a very close bond—at least when it came to their public appearances.

But since the Duke of Sussex left royal life for California, things have gone from bad to worse for the two princes, especially in the aftermath of Prince Harry's many revelatory media projects.

Things are so bad, in fact, that one anonymous friend of Prince William's claims that the current Prince of Wales may not even invite his younger brother to his own Coronation when the time comes for him to succeed to King Charles.

"It’s very clear that William and Kate are now extremely important members of the institution, so their view on Harry, which is basically the further away the better, will have to be taken into account," the friend told The Daily Beast. "Put it this way: I don’t think anyone expects Harry to get an invite to William’s coronation."

Meanwhile, King Charles has shown himself to be more forgiving of Prince Harry's recent revelations, but their father-son relationship isn't smooth either.

"The opportunity that was there for Harry to sort this out with the King is gone for now," a friend of the King and Queen told The Daily Beast.

"Of course, Charles would always welcome a reconciliation with Harry and Meghan, he has made that very clear, and his door is always open in that regard. But now the Coronation is done, I think Charles will want to focus on the job of being King, rather than to continue being distracted by Harry and Meghan drama."

Prince Harry's memoir Spare was especially controversial, and served to drive a further wedge between him and the rest of his family.

In the book, the duke made shock revelations about many senior royals, including calling William his "archnemesis" and claiming that William and Kate had approved of his infamous Nazi costume back in 2005.

While Harry attended Charles' Coronation (without Meghan Markle), he stayed for a very short amount of time and kept his family interactions at a minimum—so a reconciliation wasn't on the agenda.

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 InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. 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.