Prince Harry Coronation Role Would’ve Crossed a ‘Line’ for the Royal Family, Expert Says
Giving Prince Harry an official role in the coronation is, per an expert, going too far for the royal family. The reason being getting the Duke of Sussex involved would only “complicate matters.” Ahead, what Harry will be doing at the May 6 ceremony. Hint: It’s not much. Plus, details on what Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their children will be doing.
Prince Harry has no official role in the coronation, multiple royals are participating
Harry’s expected to show up at Westminster Abbey in London, England, take his seat — wherever it may be — and not linger after the two-hour ceremony concludes.
In contrast, his brother will play an official role in the coronation. After all, he is the Prince of Wales and heir to the throne.
As such William will be close by when King Charles III and Camilla Parker Bowles, or the soon-to-be Queen Camilla, are officially crowned. At one point, he will kneel to his father, pledging loyalty as a “liege man of life and limb,” according to the Church of England’s coronation liturgy.
Harry’s sister-in-law, the Princess of Wales, as well as her and William’s children, Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, have coronation roles.
George will be one of four Pages of Honour. That means, per Hello!, he’ll be responsible for carrying the king’s train as he navigates the abbey.
As for the rest of the Wales children, Charlotte and Louis are expected to join George and their parents in the procession to Buckingham Palace, where they’ll stand on the balcony.
Involving Harry would only ‘complicate matters’
He might be the king’s son but Harry doesn’t have an official coronation role. Which, according to royal expert Gareth Russell, was deliberate.
It’s not “surprising that Prince Harry hasn’t been given a role,” Russell told Us Weekly. The royal family, he explained, chose “not to complicate matters further by having him involved.
“Simply because,” he explained, “the royals are hoping that they can draw a line under the recent controversy with the Duke of Sussex.”
When it comes down to Harry’s presence at the coronation, which wasn’t confirmed by Buckingham Palace until April 12, the Do Let’s Have Another Drink author feels being there not in a “working” capacity is “best.”
“Prince Harry, as would the King and Prince William, would regret if he wasn’t there,” Russell said. “So I think generally speaking, the consensus is it’s right that he’s there. It’s probably best that he’s there as King Charles’ son rather than as a working prince of the United Kingdom.”
The royal family will ‘protect’ Harry with a ‘low-key’ coronation presence
Without an official role in his father’s coronation Harry may, per a commentator, find it less “challenging.”
“He’s talked about how being in the royal family as a working royal was challenging to him and affected him mentally,” Jonathan Sacerdoti told Express, noting he’s spoken “frequently about his mental illness and how he feels it was caused or at least worsened by his role and the public attention he attracted.”
As a result, the commentator explained, Harry’s role in the coronation, or lack thereof, could be a sort of protection.
“It may be that his family do everything they can to protect him from all that as much as possible by keeping his presence at the coronation relatively low key,” Sacerdoti said. “Obviously, there will still be massive public attention focused on him, though.”
The May 6 coronation ceremony begins at 11 a.m. local time in London, England, or 6 a.m. EST.
