Prince Harry’s Short Coronation Visit Reportedly ‘Saddened’ King Charles

After much speculation surrounding Prince Harry and his attendance at his father, King Charles III’s coronation, the Duke of Sussex made a short visit to the U.K. for the ceremony. He smiled at Westminster Abbey but, as expected, didn’t linger. The whole thing, according to a royal expert, left King Charles “saddened.”

A recap of Prince Harry’s visit to the U.K. for King Charles’ coronation

Prince Harry, whose short coronation visit reportedly 'saddened' King Charles, outside Westminster Abbey — Prince Harry | Andy Stenning – WPA Pool/Getty Images

For those who haven’t closely followed the saga of Harry’s coronation visit, including the initial email from King Charles’ office to Buckingham Palace’s RSVP confirmation and everything in between, here’s a recap.

Harry went to London, England, for the May 6 coronation. Taking place on the same day his and Meghan Markle’s son, Prince Archie, turned four, Harry didn’t stay long. According to author and royal expert Katie Nicholl, he spent all of 28 hours across the pond arriving on the evening of May 5 (via Vanity Fair).

On the morning of the coronation, which started at 11 a.m. local time, Harry left his one-time U.K. home, Frogmore Cottage, and headed to London. He arrived at the ceremony in a vehicle alongside his uncle, Prince Andrew, in what one royal journalist called the “car of shame.”

Harry sat three rows from the action — and his brother Prince William — wearing a morning suit, not his military uniform, at Westminster Abbey. Next to him were his cousins, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and their respective husbands.

Harry reportedly turned down an invite to attend a post-coronation lunch with his father and relatives. As Nicholl noted, he’d already left for the airport before King Charles’ official coronation portrait had been taken or released.

The visit also included Harry, per a Telegraph report, “slipping in and out of the monarchy’s headquarters” at Buckingham Palace “briefly without seeing the royal family.”

Back in Montecito, California, the Duchess of Sussex hiked with friends before celebrating Archie’s birthday at home.

Royal family’s ‘wondering why Harry bothered’ to show up at the king’s coronation

Harry’s short coronation visit supposedly left the royal family scratching their heads. A “family friend” told Nicholl that relatives have since been “wondering why Harry bothered to come at all.”

“One makes one’s choices,” a “source close to the royal family” told the New Royals author. “To be honest there wasn’t much talk of Harry at all. The focus was very much on the occasion.”

As for Harry’s father, the short coronation visit left King Charles “saddened” and the family generally “underwhelmed,” a “family friend” said.

Previously, Harry admitted he wasn’t exactly on speaking terms with his father or brother. Meanwhile, a royal commentator predicted King Charles would have a “much easier path” to reconciling with Harry than his oldest son, the Prince of Wales.

There had been “hope Harry might make a brief appearance”; however, Harry’s “breather” at the palace passed without him seeing any other royals. Then, at the post-coronation lunch, King Charles reportedly toasted Archie and his sister, Princess Lilibet, 1.

King Charles III’s coronation had Prince Harry ‘literally left out in the cold’

Prince Harry | Toby Melville – WPA Pool/Getty Images

Before Harry boarded his return flight, he waited for his ride outside Westminster Abbey, where he was “literally left out in the cold.”

“All the other royals and VIPs were taken off in official cars, but Harry was left on his own, waiting for his car,” an eye-witness said. “It was actually really sad to see him all by himself.”

As for the ceremony itself, Harry talked with Beatrice and Eugenie, “the only ones who really speak to” him. “There’s very little if any contact with the rest of his family who are still reeling from what he has said and done,” the source said.

Harry’s short coronation visit marked his first public appearance at a royal family event since the publication of his Spare memoir and his and Meghan’s Netflix docuseries.

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