Prince William Is the “Most Upset” with Prince Harry and “Needs Time to Calm Down” Before King Charles’ Coronation
Will the royal family be able to mend rifts before May 6?
Although publicly the royal family has maintained a dignified silence surrounding Prince Harry’s memoir Spare and Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, privately, there are certainly strong feelings on both.
According to People, it’s Harry’s older brother Prince William who is the “most upset” about the allegations hurled his way in the book, in which Harry called William his “archnemesis” and alleged that William attacked him physically.
“William is the one who is most upset and needs time to calm down,” a source tells People. “He has been painted as hotheaded and unsympathetic. But I don’t think he will back down—it’s whether they can move beyond it and accept that they view things differently.”
Royal correspondent Valentine Low adds that William “will be furious about the betrayals of confidences.”
William and Harry’s father King Charles, meanwhile, is eager for the situation to “calm down” in time for his Coronation, to be held on May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London.
“It is such a momentous occasion for Charles, and he would want his son to be at the Coronation to witness it,” says a source close to the royal household. “He would like to have Harry back in the family. If they don’t sort it out, it will always be part of the King’s reign and how he has left his family disjointed. He has had a reputation as a distant parent, and it would be awful for him for that to continue.”
Marie Claire reported recently that Charles has brought in the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to help bridge the gap between the two brothers. Welby—who married Harry and Meghan in 2018—will officiate Charles’ Coronation service and, a source tells People, “if he could reconcile the family members, that is what he would want to do.”
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As the clock ticks down to May 6, “although there is sorrow because the Queen has died, the Coronation should be a joyful moment, too, because Charles will be crowned,” an insider tells OK. “But this is a massive shadow,” the source says of the familial rift between the Sussexes and the rest of the family.
The royal family isn’t speaking publicly because “they didn’t want to fan the flames of the rift and the dispute,” Low says. “They know that anything said in a statement or a briefing would prolong it. They wanted it to calm down as soon as possible. The longer it goes on, the less hope there is for reconciliation.”
There is much to be seen as May 6 comes closer; though it appears it is Charles’ wish to have Harry at the Coronation, Marie Claire reported today that the Sussexes have still not been invited.
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.