Opinion: Palace gives Prince Harry a giant middle finger

The coronation concert was more than a celebration, it was also a clever way for the royal family to put to rest a damaging Prince Harry claim.

“My father has always understood that people of all faiths, all backgrounds, and all communities, deserve to be celebrated and supported.”

These are the words Prince William spoke in a tribute to his father during the Coronation Concert in Windsor.

But was this actually a palace PR exercise; a clever way for the royal family to finally put the record straight, following all the damaging accusations of racism by Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex?

Was it actually a giant middle finger to Harry?

Queen Camilla and King Charles III surrounded by VIPs in the royal box during the coronation concert. Picture: AFP

The royal family’s motto has always been “never complain, never explain”, but it must have been hard to stick to that after Harry and Meghan levelled some pretty serious racism claims about them on the Oprah Winfrey show two years ago.

Prince William slipped up once, when in the aftermath a journalist asked whether his family was racist and he replied in a firm tone, “We are very much not a racist family,” he said.

But since then there has been silence, while the Sussexes have continued to slam them on Netflix, in Harry’s book Spare and in interviews.

Nigerian musical royalty Tiwa Savage, hailed as the Queen of Afrobeats brought world pop music to the stage with her uplifting performance of Keys To The Kingdom. Picture: Getty Images

And, the mud has stuck, because it always does, even if it’s not true.

However, for the palace spin doctors, the coronation weekend may have been just the right opportunity for the family to set the record straight, without looking like they were directly responding to Harry’s accusations.

Former Pussycat Dolls member Nicole Scherzinger wowed with her soaring performance of Reflections from the movie Milan accompanied by virtuoso pianist Lang Lang. Picture: Getty Images

If anybody didn’t get the message that the coronation was about embracing all faiths, colours and sexes, then they must be on one of those silent meditation retreats – for a long time.

The concert was another opportunity to get the message out there to a different audience.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, did not stick around for the concert. But was he watching from his home in LA? Picture: Getty Images

“Take the natural world. He warned us of the risks to our planet’s health long before it was an everyday issue,” William said, speaking of his father’s belief in conservation.

“Or the Prince’s Trust. It has supported over a million young people, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, to realise their ambitions.

Ncuti Gatwa – soon to grace screens as the new Doctor Who – and Mei Mac interspersed sonnets from Shakespeare with dancers from the National Ballet. Picture: AFP

“And, perhaps most importantly of all, my father has always understood that people of all faiths, all backgrounds, and all communities, deserve to be celebrated and supported.

“For over 50 years, in every corner of the UK, across the Commonwealth and around the world, he has dedicated himself to serve others, both current and future generations, and those whose memory must not be neglected,” William said.

Lionel Richie, one of the headline acts, at the concert in Windsor, said he believed Charles was “going to bring a new flavour”.

“I’m going say this to you honestly, a lot of people don’t know this about him, but he has an amazing sense of humour that we haven’t seen yet, so I think we may in the future see a little bit of a glimpse of that – and of course, inclusiveness,” Richie, who is a man of colour, said.

Take that Harry.