Preparations are fully underway for King Charles III’s coronation next month, but as new details surface about the ceremony, one thing remains unclear: the guest list. Although it is expected that much of the British royal family will be in attendance at Westminster Abbey, the status of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has remained a mystery.
Weeks after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed to the Associated Press that they had received “email correspondence” from the king’s office about attending the coronation, it seems that they have yet to decide if they will make the trip across the pond. A spokesperson for the couple confirmed to the BBC on Wednesday, April 5 that “there was “no update on whether they were attending.” Buckingham Palace has also not addressed the status of the Duchesses, so it seems royal watchers will have to wait to see if they show up at Westminster Abbey.
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Charles, Harry’s father, is set to be crowned on May 6. Charles immediately became monarch upon his mother, Queen Elizabeth II’s, death in September at the age of 96. However, the coronation is a ceremony wherein the new Sovereign is officially crowned. Preparations for the ceremony have been in the works for months now, with invitations having already been sent. A representative for the Sussexes confirmed in early March that the couple received their invitation, but said “an immediate decision on whether the Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time.” Harry and Markle themselves have not publicly addressed their possible attendance, but Harry did subtly address the topic during a January interview with ITV, sharing, “There’s a lot that can happen between now and then. But, you know, the door is always open. The ball is in their court. There’s a lot to be discussed, and I really hope that they are willing to sit down and talk about it.”
The coronation ceremony will take place on May 6, with Charles and Camilla, the queen consort, set to leave Buckingham Palace in a horse-drawn gilded black Diamond Jubilee State Coach that was built for Elizabeth’s 60th anniversary, per the Associated Press. Following a procession that will take the couple through Admiralty Arch and past Trafalgar Square, the ceremony will begin. The ceremony will be conducted by Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury, and Charles will be crowned the king with the St. Edward’s Crown before switching to the Imperial State Crown for the procession back to the palace. A Coronation Concert will be held the following day.
