Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Probably Won’t Be on the Buckingham Palace Balcony at King Charles’ Coronation

(Image credit: Getty)

published 22 January 2023

Many aspects of King Charles’ Coronation plans—released just this weekend—mirror the Platinum Jubilee from last summer: A big concert with a star-studded lineup. Communities across the U.K. taking part in The Big Lunch. And, most likely, no non-working members of the royal family on the Buckingham Palace balcony. (The royal family took to the iconic locale after Trooping the Colour during the Jubilee, and the family will do so again on Saturday, May 6, following the Coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey.)

To avoid excess drama at the Jubilee, it was decided that only working members of the royal family would take part in the traditional Buckingham Palace balcony appearance—thereby eliminating disgraced Prince Andrew (who is no longer a working royal after his sexual assault scandal) as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who resigned as working members of the royal family in January 2020 and are forging a new life for themselves in the U.S. (you know, just in case you somehow missed that news item).

The same will likely go for the Coronation, even though Harry is the monarch’s son. The Mirror reports that “Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are unlikely to join the lineup of royals to appear at Buckingham Palace after the ceremony as they no longer carry out official duties, alongside Prince Andrew.”

Charles’ focus will be on the working royals, reports The Mail on Sunday, and a senior royal insider told the outlet it would be “unlikely” that Harry and Meghan will be included in major public appearances, including the balcony moment.

At the moment, of course, it’s a bit up in the air as to whether Harry and Meghan will even attend at all, following the release of Netflix’s docuseries Harry & Meghan, Harry’s memoir Spare, and the ensuing drama surrounding both. Royal expert Ingrid Seward told The Sun on Sunday that she does believe the couple will be invited to the Coronation, telling the outlet “Will Harry and Meghan be invited? Of course. Harry will attend, as how can you write a book about forgiveness and not turn up to your dad’s Coronation? Meghan, I am not so sure.”

Harry said himself in post-book release interviews that his attendance will depend on what happens between now and the Coronation, in just over three months’ time. It has been reported that the royal family wants to hold “peace talks” with Harry to hopefully smooth tensions before the big day, and, just as there was rampant speculation in the leadup to the Jubilee as to whether Harry and Meghan would attend—which they did, and they brought their children Archie and Lilibet, as well—the same speculation is now surrounding Charles’ Coronation. Even though Harry and Meghan were not on the balcony, they were present at Trooping the Colour, as well as a Service of Thanksgiving for Her late Majesty the next day.

One thing we can almost surely bet on: If Harry does go, Meghan probably will, too. The family of four will no doubt be together on May 6, wherever they are—be it the U.K. or the U.S.—because that day is also, coincidentally, Archie’s fourth birthday.

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.