Palace keeping seat for Harry at coronation

Buckingham Palace is planning seating, travel and dining arrangements on the assumption the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will travel to London for the King’s May 6 coronation.

Prince Harry is expected to attend his father’s coronation despite reports he wouldn’t accept the invitation unless he received an apology from the King.

Buckingham Palace is planning for the coronation on the assumption that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will attend the ceremony on May 6, it has emerged.

Although the King still does not know whether his younger son will travel from California for the occasion, staff organising the event have been told to include the Sussexes in their programme.

The couple have been told by the Palace that they will be invited, despite the fallout between Prince Harry and the rest of his family following the Sussexes’ Netflix series and the publication of his memoir.

But with the couple still to make up their mind about attending the event, the Palace remains in the dark about their intentions.

A source told the Daily Mail: “Harry and Meghan are being factored into all of the planning - the cars, the seating plans, dining arrangements, everything.

“No one knows for certain whether this means they have definitely accepted - it could, of course, be just in case they do - but it’s clearly not a ‘no’.

“The staff are certainly working on the expectation they are coming. These kind of arrangements have to be made well in advance.”

Palace staff believe Harry is likely to attend his father’s coronation, but are less certain about the presence of wife Meghan.

A source told The Times recently that Palace staff believed Harry would fly to the UK for the coronation, although they were less sure about Meghan. However, a Palace source insisted last night (Thursday) that they still do not know what the couple plan to do. The source said it was easier to plan on the assumption that they were coming than assume they were not.

A spokesman for the Sussexes said last week: “I can confirm the duke has recently received email correspondence from His Majesty’s office regarding the coronation. An immediate decision on whether the duke and duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time.”

The fact that there has been Palace recognition of the Sussex children’s titles of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet has led to speculation that the couple are now more likely to attend than previously thought. Although the Sussexes only confirmed the titles this week, the duke and duchess yesterday (Thursday) issued a new statement to say the matter of their son and daughter being called prince and princess had been “settled for some time”.

A spokesman for the couple said: “The children’s titles have been a birthright since their grandfather became monarch.”

Archie, who will be four in May, and Lilibet, who turns two in June, are now listed on royal.uk’s line of succession page as Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex.

Previously they were Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor. The siblings are sixth and seventh in line to the throne.

Meanwhile, Harry took part in a summit on International Women’s Day for BetterUp, the life coaching company. Harry, who was hired as the the San Francisco start-up’s chief impact officer in March 2021, said: “I’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by strong, empowered, confident women all my life. I wish that more women would have higher leadership roles, less testosterone in the room - which I think would be a good thing.”

Meghan was spotted enjoying brunch with friends at Gracias Madre, a West Hollywood vegan restaurant in Melrose Avenue.

The Times