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King Charles will ‘do the right thing’ and put his son Prince Harry ‘in a good place’ at his coronation, the king’s friends believe, despite Harry’s latest attack on his family, which he blamed in public hearing this week to conspire with British newspapers. and hid information about the phone hacking from him.
In a witness statement, Harry said: “The institution [the monarchy] undoubtedly hid information from me for a long time about NGN networks [News Group Newspapers—publishers of The Sun and now-defunct News of the World] phone hacking and that only became clear in recent years as I pursued my own claim with various legal advice and representation.
He also accused the Palace of “conditioning” him to accept that he could not stand up to media mistreatment. Harry added: “The institution made it clear that we didn’t need to know anything about the phone hacking and it was made clear to me that the Royal Family did not sit at the helm. witnesses because it could open a Pandora’s box.”
However, the royals appear to be taking the latest salvos in their stride.
“Nothing that happens between now and then will make a difference to the seating plan,” a friend of the King told The Daily Beast. “Charles has always said he loves his two sons. He wants them both there. Harry and Meghan are invited and will be seated prominently.”
Harry and Meghan have yet to confirm their attendance at the May 6 ceremony. However, if they do show up at Westminster Abbey, most observers believe the seating arrangement will favor William, as heir to the throne, with the best seat alongside his father and Camilla (when the king and queen are seated with the congregation, as they will be for part of the proceedings). He will be accompanied by his wife, Kate, and their three children, who will count for all seats to the right of the aisle (assuming they fit 14 abreast as they did at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral) and will carefully keep the king and the first four in the line of succession together visually.
To the left of the aisle, expect to see her sister, Princess Anne, who was at her mother’s bedside with Charles when she died in September last year, and her husband, Sir Tim Laurence. Edward and his wife Sophie, newly elevated to the post of Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, seem like a shoo-in. This leaves three places available, assuming they are not given to Edward’s (Louise and James) or Anne’s (Zara and Peter) children.
These three spaces could be filled by Harry, Meghan and Andrew. There seems to be a broad consensus in royal circles that Edward uncomplainingly might have to take the hit of sitting next to Andrew, which means walking away from the aisle you could have Harry, Meghan, Anne, Sir Tim, Sophie, Edward and Andrew. .
Andrew’s inclusion in this pivotal event seems to be what audiences have been sweetening since he escorted his mother to her seat at her late husband’s memorial. This would cement a Charles the Magnanimous narrative.
Britain’s Prince Harry walks outside the High Court, in London, Britain, March 30, 2023.
Toby Melville/Reuters
Bringing Harry to the fore would certainly be a striking visual counter-action to the main complaint Harry made in his book. Spare that he and his wife were not treated with respect by the family. It would be good if Charles wasn’t seen as snubbing his second son, who is fifth in line to the throne, a position he will hold until William has grandchildren, which could easily be over 20 years from now. given that her eldest son, George, is only 9 years old.
Attempting to banish Harry, Meghan and Andrew behind a pillar a few rows back would only succeed in making Charles look extremely petty and giving credence to every word Harry wrote.
But if Charles puts Harry and Meghan first, he won’t do it just for public relations reasons. Another friend, who said he thought the seating arrangement hadn’t been finalized yet, told the Daily Beast: “Charles has a strong sense of tradition, and tradition has it that Harry was on the first rank. I’m sure he’ll do the right thing. Despite everything that’s happened, he’s his son.
Addressing the friends of the King and Queen, this is the message they want to convey again and again; Charles loves Harry; he is his son and of course he is wanted at the coronation. Even Harry’s most ardent supporters don’t dispute these fundamental assertions – indeed, Harry’s book was surprisingly kind to his beleaguered father. There is no malice and little duplicity in the “Pa” of Sparehis failures as a father instead seem to stem from a very human weakness.
Spare certainly shook the mystique of the monarchy but it notably failed, unlike Diana’s book with Andrew Morton, to rock the institution to its foundations. The guiding principle of the Palais in terms of Spare appears more and more like “Book, which book? »
There is of course always the possibility for Harry and Meghan to capsize Operation Golden Orb, as the coronation is codenamed, by refusing the invitation – which they acknowledged receiving but refused to confirm if they accepted. It would be foolish to exclude him, given their capacity for surprise, his demands for an apology or a summit as a condition of participation, and his excoriation of his family in Netflix films, his book, and still at court this week.
But if Harry goes there – sitting center stage with a family he hates – it would probably be very relevant to the millions of viewers, who at Thanksgiving and Christmas are likely to end up in a very similar place.