Despite possibly being left off the balcony coronation celebration guest list, one UK journalist has faith that Prince Harry and his estranged family could come to some sort of temporary truce in the interest of King Charles’ upcoming coronation.
The three-day celebration will kick off with Charles’ official crowning ceremony at Westminster Abbey on May 6th — the same day as Harry and Meghan Markle’s son’s fourth birthday.
“I suspect that there are some efforts going on to try and make some form of reconciliation,” royal expert Jonathan Sacerdoti told Us Weekly. “I think because they don’t want [family tensions] to upstage what’s going on on that very important day.”
Sacerdoti isn’t the first person to publicly share their concerns regarding the possibility of an “upstage” should the Duke and Duchess do attend. Several royal experts have come forward suggesting it would be unwise of the couple to take part in Coronation Weekend and have issued a cold welcome warning. Their argument is that the couple’s presence could have a negative impact on Charles’s coronation and its significance, especially given the events leading up to the release of Harry’s memoir Spare.
“Whether or not that’s possible is one thing, and whether or not it’s lasting is another thing,” Sacerdoti said of the potential reconciliation.
“Even if they do manage to make some form of peace, [it] might be temporary. I think it’s going to be extremely difficult for them as a family — and more broadly, for the nation and for the Institution — to forgive what’s happened,” he added.
RELATED: King Charles May Exclude Prince Harry and Meghan Markle From Balcony Coronation Celebration
Since Netflix released volume two of its docuseries Harry & Meghan, the Sussex’s invitation to King Charles’ coronation has been a hot topic of conversation: from will they be invited to if they are invited, will they even show up to maybe a partial invitation?
If an invite does make its way to Montecito, Harry has made it very clear that an appearance by he or Meghan will not be made unless a visit with His Majesty and the Prince of Wales is arranged well in advance. In blatant terms, the couple wants an apology from the royal family as well as the institution itself.
However, it takes two to tango. Sacerdoti raised an interesting point that Buckingham Palace may be expecting their own apology.
“I think Harry and Meghan have said they’re expecting an apology, but I think there aren’t many people who agree that it’s due that way round,” Sacerdoti said. “Some of the individuals within [Spare] — the king, the queen and the Prince of Wales — all come out of that book so badly. They’re so broadly criticized by Harry, so nastily criticized in sections, that I think they could be feeling very sore about this.”
The Palace has yet to publicly comment on the Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries or on Spare, which Sacerdoti claimed could be a strategic ploy on their part on behalf of Britain and its people.
“But above all else, I think they might also be feeling that they just want to keep quiet because they don’t wanna provoke any more of this sort of thing, which is damaging not just to them emotionally and personally, but to the nation, because this is an attack effectively on part of the Constitution of Great Britain,” Sacerdoti said.
A lot can happen in two months. We’ll see if Harry and his estranged relatives can hang on by an olive branch.
Volume one and two of Harry & Meghan can be streamed on Netflix. For an extensive look into Prince Harry’s former life as a royal, fans can pick up a copy of his new memoir Spare, which is officially available wherever books are sold.
