Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Presence at King Charles’ Coronation “Could Cause a Lot of Turmoil,” Expert Says

(Image credit: Getty)

published 29 October 2022

While Buckingham Palace hasn’t released a guest list for King Charles’ coronation on May 6, 2023, at Westminster Abbey, it’s expected to be around 2,000 people—and two on the invite list, most assuredly, are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. There’s essentially no doubt they’ll get the invitation—but whether they’ll fly to London to attend from their home base of California is up for debate. (The same day coincidentally also marks the fourth birthday of their son, Archie.)

According to royal commentator Christiana Maxion, Harry and Meghan’s presence at the coronation may be a mistake, according to OK.

“With the passing of the Queen, there is no doubt that family dynamics have changed, and I am sure Harry’s father, King Charles, would want him at his upcoming coronation at least,” she says. “Harry’s return could cause a lot of turmoil in the family, but his bond with Meghan could strengthen in a possible ‘us against the world’ fashion, which always leads to more exclusion and battle.”

Since Her late Majesty’s death in September, rumors have swirled that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could be planning a move back to the U.K., with some outlets even claiming that a move into Windsor Castle could happen. But, Maxion says, Harry’s forthcoming book—which, as of this week, has a title and a release date: Spare, set for publication on January 10, 2023—could wreck those plans completely, making a return to Harry’s home country “out of the equation.”

Originally due out in late fall 2022, the book, according to OK, “was set to reveal scandalous tidbits about the monarchy, but in the wake of the Queen’s death, Harry agreed to go back and ‘soften’ some of his work.” Royal reporter Richard Eden also says Harry went back and wrote a new chapter about “the Queen’s funeral and the events surrounding it,” pushing the tome back to early 2023.

“This could be a way that all the tenses are correct, referring to the Queen in the past and then having that new chapter could be a quite elegant way to do it,” Eden says.

The contents of the book—heretofore allegedly unknown by members of the royal family—could determine family relations going forward for the near future, including whether Harry and Meghan choose to attend the coronation in roughly six months’ time.

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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.

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