The Duke of Sussex attended his father’s coronation alone after his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, and young children opted not to attend and remained at home in California.
The king’s younger son, who stepped back as a working royal in 2020 and later moved to the US, had not been seen in public with the royals since the publication of his memoir Spare earlier this year, in which he was highly critical of his father, his stepmother, Queen Camilla, and brother, the Prince of Wales.
Relations between the family members are said to remain extremely frosty and there had been some speculation over whether Prince Harry would attend the coronation at all. Sources indicated the fact the coronation fell on his son Archie’s fourth birthday played a part in the duchess’s decision to remain away.
The prince, who flew into the UK on Friday, walked into Westminster abbey alone, wearing medals pinned to his dark morning suit. He was seated two rows behind his brother and immediately between Jack Brooksbank, the husband of the Duke of York’s daughter Princess Eugenie, and 86-year-old Princess Alexandra, a first cousin of Elizabeth II.
Those seated on the row in front included Princess Anne, her husband, V Adm Timothy Laurence, and the Duke of Kent.
The front row was reserved for the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie.
For the queen’s funeral last September, Harry sat in the second row at Westminster Abbey, directly behind Charles.
As the congregation paid homage to the king during the service, Harry was seen, along with the other royals around him, speaking the words: “God save King Charles. Long live King Charles. May the king live for ever.”
Harry did not play a part in the procession back to Buckingham Palace after the ceremony, and did not appear on the balcony to acknowledge the crowds and witness a flypast by the Red Arrows. His absence was particularly striking given the presence on the balcony of all the other working royals, including the Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Instead, the prince’s car was seen heading out of London in the direction of Heathrow airport, it was reported.
Though no longer a working royal, Harry remains fifth in line to the throne, behind the Prince of Wales and his three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Harry and Meghan’s children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are sixth and seventh in line.
