Harry: apologise or I’ll skip coronation

Prince Harry is demanding King Charles issue him a private apology for the family’s treatment of him and Meghan - and only then will he consider attending the historic day.

Prince Harry’s latest reported demand is sure to invite further scrutiny on the polarising Duke.

The Duke of Sussex wants a private apology from King Charles and the Prince of Wales before he will consider attending the coronation, it was claimed last night (Friday).

The duke has already made it clear that he believes the family owes him an apology for the way they treated him and Meghan while they were working members of the royal family. He has accused the other royal households of leaking and planting stories about them in the media.

Prince Harry said in an interview with ITV to publicise his memoir Spare that the “ball is in their court”.

It has been clear since December that the royal family does not feel it has anything to apologise for. A source close to the royal family told The Times: “I don’t think that there is any sense that an apology is owed.”

The source said that the duke and duchess would receive an invitation to the coronation, although none has been sent out yet. “But I don’t think it will be wrapped in an apologetic bow. It will be, ‘Here is an invitation. Let us know if you are coming.’ ”

As one source said recently: “They aren’t going to apologise because they don’t recognise Harry’s version of events.” However a “well-placed source” has now claimed that Harry wants an apology from Charles and William before he will attend.

The Duke of Sussex wants an apology from the King over the Royal Family’s treatment of him and his wife.

Harry’s desire for an apology became more pressing after the former lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth, Lady Susan Hussey, apologised to a black charity campaigner for remarks she had made to her at a palace reception. Harry was said to resent the fact that Ngozi Fulani got an apology whereas he has not. Some sources sympathetic to the royals’ predicament have described the situation as a “toxic stalemate”. One told the Daily Mail: “There is still a huge amount of ill will boiling over in the family.”

Cards telling guests to “save the date” will reportedly be sent out in two weeks to the 2,000 guests invited to attend the ceremony in Westminster Abbey on May 6. The list will include the Sussexes. Omid Scobie, a journalist with links to the Sussexes, claimed this week that “no one knows their plans right now - the couple has yet to be invited and can’t make a decision, nor any form of itinerary, until that happens.”

The Times’s source said the coronation would not be a catalyst for further conversations aimed at ending the rift between Harry and his family. “They are entirely separate things in the eyes of the family.”

However, the King remains willing to talk to his younger son. “I’m sure that his father would be more than happy to sit down and have a conversation with him about everything that has happened. But it would not be a one-way street. He would be happy to talk and listen and understand. He has always tried to understand his son, even if he might not agree with him.”

Members of the royal household believe that Harry will attend the coronation, even if Meghan does not.”She will use the excuse of looking after Archie and Lilibet, and Archie’s birthday. But no one really knows,” one said. The coronation is being held on their son Archie’s fourth birthday.

However, any chance of reconciliation with William remains remote. “The relationship isn’t even rock bottom now, it’s non-existent,” a source told Mail Plus. “And I just don’t see, if Harry were to come to the coronation, how William could even bring himself to look his brother in the face.”

THE TIMES