If Prince Harry Does Attend the Coronation, He Will Avoid Bowing to Queen Consort Camilla

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published 25 March 2023

Still no word on the Sussex RSVP to the Coronation either way, but if Prince Harry does end up attending his father King Charles’ big day on May 6 at Westminster Abbey, he will likely avoid having to bow to stepmother Queen Consort Camilla, a source tells The Mirror.

Camilla will be crowned alongside Charles at the ceremony, which will no doubt be at least a little bit difficult for Harry to witness, as Camilla was such a painful part of his late mother Princess Diana’s life during her marriage to Charles.

Harry has spoken out about Camilla in his memoir, Spare, and subsequent interviews to promote it, like his appearance with Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes, where he called his stepmother a “villain” and “dangerous.” In the pages of Spare, Harry wrote he had “complex feelings about gaining a stepparent who I thought had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar.”

But, according to The Mirror, “plans for the Coronation day will see Harry and Camilla essentially kept apart.” A source tells The Daily Mail that at the ceremony only Prince William will pay homage to Charles, meaning Harry will remain in his seat throughout the service. “Harry will not have to pass the Queen Consort and bow as he does so,” a source says.

Detailed planning for the event in five weeks’ time is in its final stages. The Times reports that, despite demands to the contrary by the Sussexes, they will not take part in the procession out of the Abbey and back to Buckingham Palace, as this is limited to working royals only. And, though there is still no confirmation on their attendance, a source tells The Daily Mail “Harry and Meghan are being factored into all of the planning—the cars, the seating plans, dining arrangements, everything.”

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.