Despite the family drama being played out in front of the entire world, King Charles wants younger son Prince Harry at his Coronation on May 6, and, according to The Mirror, the royal family is rolling out incentives to get Harry and wife Meghan Markle to attend. What kind of incentives, you ask? Think high-profile seating at the event and the promise that Harry and Meghan will get to keep their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles, even after the Netflix docuseries, Harry’s memoir, and Meghan’s potential forthcoming memoir of her own.
The Mail on Sunday reports that the offer of a “high-profile seating position” and an assurance that the titles can be kept is an “inducement” for the couple to attend: “Harry’s camp made clear that the idea that he would just attend the Coronation and behave himself but then be stripped of his titles was a total non-starter,” a source tells the outlet. “While he might decide at some point to discard his titles of his own volition, he objects to the idea of being forcibly stripped of them. He resents being lumped together with Andrew in the public mind as the two ‘problem Princes’ when he considers the circumstances to be totally different.”
Various options seem to be on the table, with The Sun reporting that Harry could attend the Coronation without Meghan in a swift 48-hour visit, while Meghan stays behind in California with the couple’s children, Archie and Lilibet. (To this writer anyway, this option seems less likely, as May 6 is Archie’s fourth birthday, and it’s doubtful that the family would want to be separated on that day.) Apparently, this plan—dubbed “Harry in a Hurry”—would see the Duke of Sussex make a brief appearance at the Coronation on May 6 before heading back home.
Harry himself told ITV’s Tom Bradby last month of the Coronation “There’s a lot that can happen between now and then. But the door is always open. The ball is in their court. There’s a lot to be discussed, and I really hope that they’re willing to sit down and talk about it.”
The Daily Express reports that even Harry’s older brother Prince William—who is helping plan the Coronation—is ready to “work in tandem” with Charles on Harry’s U.K. return, despite his anger at his brother. The outlet reports that William is “at odds” with his father’s desire to see Harry at the Coronation, as he is “burning inside” over what he considers “disloyalty” on his brother’s part towards the family.
“Reports have placed William’s understandable anger over the Sussexes’ revelations at odds with Charles’ desire, as monarch, for a show of unity when he is crowned,” royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams tells The Daily Express. “However, I would be surprised if they were not working in tandem to ensure that if the Sussexes do come—and we have no way of knowing if they will—they are controlled. This worked during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations and also during the period of the Queen’s funeral.”
So, it seems the bottom line (at least as of today) is the Sussexes will get the invite. Will they come is yet to be determined—but maybe the so-called “incentives” package will help boost their willingness to attend.