British broadcaster and royal commentator Jonathan Sacerdoti said that Buckingham Palace approached speculation of whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would attend King Charles’ coronation in a “calm and balanced” way.
“Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that The Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on 6th May,” according to a statement released by the palace. “The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.”
‘The Palace has not responded to every twist and turn in Harry and Meghan’s psychodrama’
Sacerdoti, who has weighed in on a number of high-profile stories involving the royal family said the palace handled the announcement well. “This calm and noble statement from the palace finally puts an end to all the speculation over whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be in the UK and attending the coronation,” he shared in a statement exclusive to Showbiz Cheat Sheet.
“The palace has not responded to every twist and turn in Harry and Meghan’s psychodrama, preferring to maintain a dignified silence, unless there is an actual need for them to comment. Today’s statement responds to such a need in a calm and balanced way,” he added.
Missing King Charles’ coronation would be a snub from Prince Harry
Sacerdoti noted that the focus should be on the event and not Prince Harry’s presence. “The coronation is not just an important day for King Charles, but also for the entire nation,” he said. “It is a historic event and had Prince Harry chosen not to attend, it could not have been seen as anything other than a snub to his father and indeed to the country.”
“The coronation has long been planned to fall on the same day as Harry’s son, Archie’s birthday, which presented the Duke and Duchess of Sussex with a dilemma. They appear to have resolved this by deciding that Meghan will stay in America and Harry will make a brief trip to the UK.”
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He noted how Prince Harry and his wife have had differing approaches to making announcements. “Harry and Meghan have a very different attitude from the royal family when it comes to making announcements,” Sacerdoti remarked.
“The late Queen famously issued a brief response to the Oprah Winfrey interview, saying that ‘recollections may vary.’ King Charles has now shown he had the same diplomatic approach by releasing this short statement, which ends speculation over several matters, including the status of Harry‘s children as Prince and Princess,” he added. “The statement is the first time the Palace has used those titles and shows that the king recognizes the status of his U.S.-based grandchildren fully. It takes back control of the narrative.”
The Palace is exercising caution when it comes to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Sacerdoti believes that the palace will continue to exercise caution and restraint when it comes to Prince Harry and his family.
“Harry and Meghan have spoken at length about their own struggles with mental illness, and the royal family will therefore always want to be careful in how they treat the couple,” he said. “The king will doubtless want to be sensitive when it comes to his son and daughter-in-law‘s mental health challenges and spare them the difficulty of the constant attention they both struggled with when they were still working royals.”
“He will also want to protect the royal family itself from any potential damage that could be caused by further arguments with Meghan and Harry and minimize opportunities for them to breach any further confidence in future books, tv shows, or other media opportunities,” he added.
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