King Charles Reportedly Wants Harry at Coronation But William Is Still 'Furious'
King Charles III's coronation is set to take place in May. With the event fast approaching, there's been more talk about whether the king's son, Prince Harry, and daughter-in-law, Meghan Markle, will attend. According to PEOPLE, Charles reportedly wants Harry to be there, but his heir, Prince William, has a differing opinion on the matter.
A source told PEOPLE that Charles wants his son to attend his coronation, which is less than 100 days away. They said, "It is such a momentous occasion for Charles, and he would want his son to be at the coronation to witness it. He would like to have Harry back in the family." The source continued to say that Charles is worried about whether it would leave a dark mark on his reign if his youngest son wasn't at the event, adding, "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."
Royal historian Robert Lacey also weighed in on the situation with PEOPLE. Not only did he discuss Charles' relationship with Harry, but he also opened up about how this situation affects the royal family's overall image. "Quite apart from [Charles'] paternal hope to reunite with his son, one of the jobs of the royal family is showing how to cope with the problems we all have in a human and thoughtful way," Lacey said. "What will be a success for the family in the future is not reconciliation necessarily, but mutual acceptance of different ideas and priorities."
Despite Charles' reported desire to have Harry at his coronation, William reportedly has a different take on the situation. A source told the Daily Express that the Prince of Wales is "most upset" by his younger brother's memoir, Spare. It is also said that he is "furious" about what Harry has said about him in his memoir and in the media. Due to all of the drama, William reportedly isn't as on board with the idea of having Harry at Charles' coronation.
"The family is split, and all the indications are that Harry is being advised to agree to nothing at this stage and 'play it long' right up to the last minute, which is making negotiations with him very difficult," a source close to the monarchy told the Daily Mail in late January. "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. 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."