Prince William’s seven-word blow to Harry at King Charles’ coronation

New details of King Charles’ coronation include one moment that could be highly painful for the Duke of Sussex.

The awesome complexity of King Charles’ coronation is enough to boggle the mind.

Imagine having to undertake the herculean task of getting Princess Anne into an outfit bought since the fall of the Soviet Union while simultaneously rejigging British air traffic control because so many dignitaries are flying in while also helping King Charles learn his oath.

Then there are the on-the-ground security preparations: At some stage this week, snipers and chemical, biological and nuclear response teams will be hidden around central London.

However, 70 years after the last time that the United Kingdom witnessed this extraordinary display of frippery and dusted-off robes, the preparations are not just confined to one city, country or even continent.

Harry (right) will be a bystander at his father’s coronation, will William will take a central role. Picture: Tim Rooke – Pool/Getty

Just down the road from Oprah Winfrey’s $136 million estate, the Houdini of the royal world, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, is also getting ready.

We now know that he is not only going to need a clean suit and passport for his lightning coronation trip; it seems he’ll also need a new set of affirmations, his emotional support hoodie and a good belt of whiskey after new details emerged about the service.

Over the weekend, the Church of England dusted off their Twitter password (I’m assuming it’s ‘God4eva’) to share the liturgy for Saturday’s big day. If you’re really into psalms then I’m sure it’s a deadset banger of a read, but the only bit I care about is how big of a part Prince William will be playing.

In the second half of the coronation, after Charles’ oath and the enthroning, William will deliver what is called the Homage of Royal Blood. It will see William kneel in front of his father, put his hands between those of the King, and pledge “my loyalty to you and faith and truth I will bear unto you, as your liege man of life and limb.”

And there in the pews, as the Prince of Wales takes part in this ancient symbolic tradition, will be Harry, reduced to no more than a spectator as his closest blood relatives enter the history books.

Harry will attend the coronation – but the exiled royal will watch it unfold from a seat in the audience. Picture: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty

Of all the moments in the roughly two-hour long service, it will be this one when Harry’s self-induced downfall, from publicly adored prince to regally irrelevant bystander, will be complete.

In another universe, it would not be this way. In an alternate reality where he and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex rode out the crest of critical coverage in 2019 and forged on with their royal work, Harry would likely be taking part in the Homage too.

But the events of the recent years mean that Buckingham Palace has about as much interest in putting the royal dukes front and centre during the coronation as Queen Camilla would have for doing Dry July.

So cue the pain, pathos and poignancy that the Homage will stir up.

As William utters his oath – “your liege man of life and limb” – it will drive home how much Harry has given up in his quest for ‘freedom’, ‘truth’ and the tender embrace of Netflix’s accounts department.

Short of William turning around mid-oath and pulling the old ‘na na, ni na na!’ move, it’s hard to imagine a moment that will more effectively rub Harry’s nose in what he has forfeited to live his Californian dream.

With those seven words from the Prince of Wales, the full extent of what he has lost is about to come sharply into view.

With Harry out, William appears closer to their father than ever. Picture: Getty

Most obviously, Harry has pretty much lost his family in the biggest dynastic bust-up since the Lancastrians and the Yorks went at it during the War of the Roses.

He has also lost his ability to hold any sort of official role. The lowlines, in a monarchical sense, of the position the duke now occupies will be inescapably obvious as his brother and nephew enjoy star billing and he is stuck in a pew with no part to play.

The irony in all of this is that much of Harry’s tell-all Spare was focused on the second-class, second best, silver medallist-like treatment he was forced to contend with in childhood and adulthood, the frustration and resentment of his position as lifelong understudy to his golden boy big brother the future King. This fundamental inequality between the brothers is clearly one of the most psychologically consequential factors that has shaped Aitch and which would seem to still deeply affect him.

And yet Harry leaving the royal fold has seemed to have had the unintended consequence of bringing Charles and William ever close together and shining the Prince of Wales’ star brighter now there is no popular younger brother to share the spotlight with.

This coronation moment, of Charles and William united in ancient ritual, will symbolise how the tectonic plates of royal family relationships have irrevocably shifted over the last five years. It will be the Brit Boys versus the Montecito Mud-Slinger; the Savile Row Irregulars versus the Self-Appointed Saint of Santa Barbara.

Just in case the coronation isn’t shaping up to be as personally harrowing as possible for Harry, there is the fact that the Archbishop of Canterbury has revealed that the title of the liturgy is “Called to Serve” and will be “focused on the theme of loving service to others.”

It’s hard to think of a concept with more of a sharp edge for Harry.

The question of ‘service’ has dogged the Sussexes since they flounced off to the West Coast about 48 years ago to raise chickens and their IMDB rankings. (Correction: Turns out it was three years ago, it just feels like much, much longer).

In February 2021 when Her late Majesty yanked away their remaining royal patronages and his honorary military roles, they had the mind blowing chutzpah to issue a mouthy retort of their own with a statement that read in part, “We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.”

Harry and Meghan certainly “can” “live a life of service” – but are they?

Their Archewell Foundation is certainly doing a lot of good things for the world, but is that really the same as living a life dedicated to helping others in the mould and example set by the late Queen?

It’s hard to imagine that the irrepressible nonagenarian, were she still alive, would view the duke and duchess’ appearances at a charity polo tournament, on gala event red carpets and having self-important meetings at the UN as equal to the “service” of, say, Princess Anne, who undertook 214 engagements last year alone.

Recently, friends of the Harry’s told the Sunday Times that he had found his grandmother’s funeral had introduced some “regret over a missed opportunity of what could have been”.

If that was then, just how is he going to feel on Saturday? What will be going through Harry’s head as he comes face-to-face with what his life could and should have been? Remorse, sadness, loss, hurt, grief, righteous anger?

At least he can commiserate with Anne, who will be buffeted by all these same uncomfortable emotions too as she comes to terms with having spent £89 on a new dress for one single day. Courage, Your Highness. Courage.

Daniela Elser is a writer and a royal commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.

Originally published as Prince William’s seven-word blow to Harry at King Charles’ coronation