It’s Official: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Have Been Invited to the Coronation
No confirmation yet on whether they’ll attend the May 6 event.
After rampant speculation in the weeks post-release of Spare, multiple outlets confirm that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have indeed been invited to King Charles’ Coronation on May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London. It is still unclear whether Harry and Meghan will accept the invitation, a complicated decision considering recent familial rifts (culminating in the couple’s eviction from their U.K. home, Frogmore Cottage) and the fact that May 6 is also the fourth birthday of their son, Archie.
People reports that a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan said the pair “recently received email correspondence” about the Coronation. The Sunday Times released the statement in full, which says “I can confirm The Duke has recently received email correspondence from His Majesty’s office regarding the Coronation. An immediate decision on whether The Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time.”
It is a bit of peace in the midst of a tumultuous few months. Though there have long been issues within the family, the problems have peaked in the past three months, beginning with the release of Harry and Meghan’s eponymous six-part Netflix docuseries in December, the release of Harry’s memoir, Spare, in January, and the next-day decision to evict the couple from Frogmore.
People reports Charles is eager for the situation to “calm down” in time for the ceremony, which will see the King become the oldest monarch crowned in U.K.’s history (he is 74). His wife, Camilla, will be crowned alongside the King.
“It is such a momentous occasion for Charles, and he would want his son to be at the Coronation to witness it,” a source close to the royal household tells People. “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.”
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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.