King Charles’ coronation comes after years of royal riffs and family feuds.
While the spotlight Saturday will be on Charles and his wife, Camilla, queen consort, others who are — and aren’t — in attendance will also garner attention.
Most notably, Charles’ son Prince Harry will be there in London after months of speculation about his status, while wife Meghan Markle will remain in the U.S.
Harry, who stepped down from his senior royal duties in 2020, has been vocal about his strained relationship with his family. In an explosive 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry claimed his father stopped taking his calls at one point and that his family cut him off financially.
Markle, who married Harry in 2018, has also spoken out about feeling unsupported in the U.K. amid intense media scrutiny. She told Winfrey there were concerns within the palace before Archie was born about “how dark” their son’s skin color would be.
Harry detailed issues with his family as well in his memoir, “Spare,” which came out in January. That month, Harry expressed uncertainty about attending the coronation.
“There’s a lot that can happen between now and then, but the door is always open,” Harry told ITV at the time. “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.”
Representatives announced Harry would attend the coronation in April, less than a month before the event. Meghan will spend the weekend at a “low-key party at home” for Archie’s 4th birthday.
Last September, Harry traveled to the U.K. for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, where he walked in a coffin procession with his father and older brother, Prince William. In last year’s “Harry & Meghan” docuseries, Harry claimed William received preferential treatment from palace officials.
“They were happy to lie to protect my brother,” Harry said. “They were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”
The drama surrounding Charles dates back decades. He divorced Princess Diana in 1996, a year before she died in a car crash in 1997.
“There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” Diana famously said in a 1995 interview with the BBC in reference to Camilla. Charles married Camilla in 2005.
Another controversy involved Charles’ younger brother, Prince Andrew, who was accused of sleeping with an alleged 17-year-old victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking scandal. Andrew denied the allegation and last year reached a settlement with the woman, Virginia Giuffre.
Queen Elizabeth removed Andrew’s military ties and royal duties last year.
Elizabeth’s death ended her record-setting 70-year monarchy. Charles, who was 73 at the time, was the oldest person to take over the throne. William, 40, is next in line.