How Prince Harry’s bombshell revelations could cause more headaches

Prince Harry could be barred from an official role in the King’s coronation and trigger US visa concerns as a result of his book’s drug use revelations.

The Duke of Sussex has reportedly been written out of King Charles’ Coronation script amid revelations the Prince of Wales has been left “burning with anger” over bombshell revelations in his brother’s memoirs.

In his new tell-all autobiographySpare, Prince Harry has unveiled a series of sensational claims about his brother and father, describing Prince William as his ‘arch-nemesis’ and accusing the King of being worried he would be ‘overshadowed’ by Meghan Markle’s Hollywood magnetism.

King Charles poses with his sons Prince William (R) and Prince Harry (L) during the Royal Family's ski break at Klosters in 2005 in Switzerland. Picture: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

The revelation comes amid concern Prince Harry’s admission to drug-taking could see him barred by immigration authorities in the US where rules state that an individual’s “current and/or past actions, such as drug or criminal activities . . . may make the applicant ineligible for a visa”.

The Royal Family has to date remained tight-lipped on criticism of its members on the book but a royal source told the UK Sunday Times Prince Harry has been left out from proceedings of King Charles’ upcoming Coronation in May.

Prince Harry has been written out of the coronation of King Charles III according to royal commentators. Picture: AFP

“Prince Harry has been written out of the script for the Coronation, with no official role in the service if he attends,” the paper’s Royal Editor Roya Nikkhah tweeted.

‘Breaking with tradition, Charles will scrap royal dukes kneeling and paying homage to the monarch. Only William will perform that role

“As things stand, there is no role for Harry in the service,’ a royal source reportedly declared.

Friends of William have revealed that the heir is ‘burning with anger’ but is also “anxious and sad” over Harry’s comments, which one friend described as “cowardly”.

‘[William] won’t retaliate, he never would, because he’s dignified and unbelievably loyal,’ one friend told the newspaper.

“It’s cruel, cowardly and so sad for William to keep taking the punches. He’s keeping quiet for the good of his family and the country.”

Another said: ‘He’s anxious and he’s sad – he’s concentrating on his wife and his children … He’s handling it so well on the outside, inside he’s burning,’ before one other associate added: ‘He’s not going to roll over.”

A woman leafs through the Spanish version of Prince Harry's autobiography after buying it in Madrid. Picture: AFP

In his memoir, Spare, the Duke of Sussex reveals that he first took cocaine on a shooting weekend when he was 17 and did “a few more lines” on other occasions. He also confesses to hallucinating on magic mushrooms at a celebrity party in California, and smoking cannabis after his first date with Meghan Markle in London in 2016.

The couple permanently moved to California in 2020 after stepping down as working members of the royal family.

Although the Duchess of Sussex is a US citizen, it is unclear what grounds Prince Harry is able to reside and work in America. It is assumed he holds a spousal visa, but he may also have been granted a three-year special dispensation O-1 visa for people with “extraordinary ability”, often given to film stars and top athletes.

Visa applicants are routinely asked to declare if they have a criminal record or have breached any drugs laws.

Prince Harry’s autobiographical confessions fo drug use may imp[act his residency status in the US. Picture: Mike Coppola/Getty Images

Asked if Harry’s admissions about his drug use might cause him difficulties, the US State Department said last night: “All visa applications are adjudicated on a case-by-case basis. Visa records are confidential under US law; therefore, we cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases. We cannot speculate on whether someone may or may not be eligible for a visa.

“Whenever an individual applies for a US visa, a consular officer reviews the facts of the case and determines whether the applicant is eligible for that visa based on US law.”

In his 557-page memoir Harry reveals he was so consumed with grief he only cried once over the death of his mother, Diana, the Princess of Wales.

In an emotional clip for his British television interview promoting the publication of his autobiography Spare, Prince Harry says, “I cried once, at the burial, and you know I go into detail [in Spare] about how strange it was and how actually there was some guilt that I felt, and I think William felt as well, by walking around the outside of Kensington Palace,” he tells ITV anchor Tom Bradby.

“There were 50,000 bouquets of flowers to our mother and there we were shaking people’s hands, smiling …

“And the wet hands that we were shaking, we couldn’t understand why their hands were wet, but it was all the tears that they were wiping away.”

Harry, who was 12 when his mother died in a car crash in Paris, goes on, “Everyone thought and felt like they knew our mum, and the two closest people to her, the two most loved people by her, were unable to show any emotion in that moment.”

Originally published as How Prince Harry’s bombshell revelations could cause more headaches