Parnell: It’s all kind of awks as ’problematic’ Harry flies in and out of dad’s coronation

Prince Harry is finally going to his father’s coronation, but he and Meghan are now – and will forever be – the inconvenient exiles, writes Kerry Parnell.

Cheer up Harry, every family has “reject rellies” it doesn’t like. It’s a club many of us belong to, without always knowing why.

Granted, penning a tell-all book about your family, itemising every single thing you dislike about them – including your brother’s “alarming baldness”, will guarantee you lifetime membership, but at least you know how you earned your admission.

Now, as Prince Harry prepares to attend his father’s coronation on May 6, he can expect to be placed in the category of prodigal son/dodgy uncle/embarrassing cousin/disliked sister-in-law.

You know, the ones the rest of the family have to put up with on special occasions, greeting them with death smiles, bad seating plans and subtly substandard gifts. Every statement is in doublespeak: “So glad you could make it” translates as “extremely disappointed you came”.

“You look well,” means “I see you haven’t lost any weight”.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, has become the Royal Family’s “reject rellie”. Picture: Belinda Jiao/Getty Images

And “Is that a new dress?” is not be confused with “that is a nice dress”.

Meghan knows this. Harry knows this. But, like Kendall, Shiv and Roman Roy in Succession, he’ll be forever troubled by his relationship with his dad. In fact, maybe it was this week’s episode which made up Harry’s mind – he realised he should get on that plane, before it’s too late.

Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) in the TV series Succession. Picture: Foxtel.

The question of should he go or should he stay, has been tormenting Harry for the past few weeks. He took so long to decide, he missed the RSVP date. But this week, it was confirmed he will attend the coronation next month, on his own. It’s unfortunately/fortuitously the same date as Archie’s fourth birthday, so Meghan, Archie and Lilibet will stay at home in California.

Presumably, Harry will jet in, wave at the wellwisher, watch the ceremony, air kiss a few cheeks, then backdoor it as fast as possible, home again.

It’s all kind of awks and I do feel for Harry, as well as the rest of the Royal Family. Although the British press is insisting it signals the beginning of a truce, he and Meghan are now – and will forever be – the inconvenient exiles.

Like Edward VIII, who lived the rest of his life in France with Wallis Simpson, he’ll always be the “problematic” relative, the one who went away but can never quite get away. Edward was not invited to the late Queen’s wedding in 1947, or her coronation in 1953. He never reconciled with his family or, you could surmise, his decision.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Picture: Taylor Hill/WireImage

Duke and Duchess of Windsor (formerly Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII).

Interestingly, it was recently announced his former home, now called Villa Windsor, west of Paris – which was renovated by Mohamed Al-Fayed – is being turned into a museum. As replayed on The Crown, Prince Charles visited the Duke of Windsor there in 1970.

“The whole thing seemed so tragic – the existence, the people, the atmosphere – that I was relieved to escape it after 45 minutes,” Charles wrote in his diary. “I found footmen and pages wearing identical uniforms to the ones ours wear at home. It was rather pathetic.”

Two years later, Edward died and only then was he allowed to come home to his family, poignantly, to the burial ground at Frogmore.