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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Kyle O'Sullivan

Prince Harry's 8 possible Coronation allies - from world leader's wife to celebrity pals

With his circle of friends continuing to shrink, Prince Harry will be struggling for allies at King Charles' Coronation.

In years gone by, the Duke of Sussex would have been surrounded by loved ones and friends at a huge royal occasion.

But he is now estranged from most members of Royal Family and won't be taking part in many parts of the Coronation day, including the processions to and from Westminster Abbey and standing on the famous Buckingham Palace balcony.

Harry won't have wife Meghan Markle by his side as she will be staying at home in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, but he has decided to come alone.

According to insiders, Harry was cutely aware that the historic occasion will be "pretty much the most important day" of the King's life and knew he would regret not attending.

However, Harry will have a small number of allies at the Coronation, including some famous faces and the wife of a world leader.

Ant and Dec

Few people would have expected Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly to have spots at the Coronation ceremony - but they have close connections to the monarchy.

The Geordie due will be part of the congregation inside the Abbey on May 6 as they have been ambassadors of The Prince's Trust for more than 20 years.

Harry and William spoke to Ant and Dec for a documentary on The Prince's Trust in 2016 (PA)

They have hosted The Prince's Trust Awards 10 times and made a documentary with Charles in 2015, in which he declined their invitation to appear on I'm A Celebrity.

The royal connection extends to Harry and William, who ribbed each other during an interview with Ant and Dec in 2006.

Harry pointed out to his dad that the two men chatting to them were actually hit artists PJ and Duncan.

The Britain's Got Talent hosts also threw their support behind Harry in 2019 by commending the important work he was doing around World Mental health Day.

On a very serious Coronation day, the cheeky chappies could provide some comfort to Harry.

Jill Biden

Harry will have a very unlikely ally in the form of First Lady Jill Biden, who is representing America instead of US President Joe Biden.

While the decision has raised some eyebrows, especially after Biden and his wife travelled to London for the funeral of the late Queen last September, a sitting US President has never been at a Coronation.

The professor and the prince first formed a bond a decade ago over their shared interest in veterans - and both Bidens have attended Harry's Invictus Games.

During Harry's 2013 tour of the US, he attended a reception of American and British wounded service members along with Jill, who was second lady at the time.

Harry credits that trip with giving him the inspiration to start the Invictus Games - and Mrs Biden cheered the US team on at the inaugural event in London in 2014.

She also attended the event in Florida in 2016 and in Toronto in 2017 along with her husband, who has joked about how close his wife and Harry had become.

Joking about his wife's involvement in the inaugural Games, Biden said: "Jill went to London for the last Games. She spent too much damn time with Prince Harry!"

He also joked about how easily the pair had hit it off, saying at the time: "I read in the Guardian, or one of them, and it says — I'm paraphrasing — 'everywhere Prince Harry went, he had this blonde woman on his arm.' The vice-president's wife! I'm a little worried here, you know what I mean?"

At the virtual Warrior Games event held last month, Dr. Biden spoke highly of Harry, specifically citing his military service and work with veterans.

Jill also recently revealed that she had finished Harry's autobiography Spare - but didn't give an opinion on his memoir.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank

It seems Harry has burnt bridges with most of the Royal Family - but he is still close with Princess Eugenie.

Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank have often been seen sharing a laugh with the Sussexes at royal events.

She was the first and possible only royal visitor to see the Sussexes when they moved to California and Harry recalls attending a Halloween party with his cousin in his book Spare.

Prince William and Prince Harry with their cousins, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice (WireImage)

Prince Andrew's daughter also appeared in the couple's Netflix docuseries, cycling with Harry on the beach, and her son August is just four months older than Lili.

It was previously reported that most members of the Royal Family 'have no interest in talking to Harry beyond basic greetings', but it was added Eugenie and sister Beatrice may be the only "exceptions".

However, the dynamic may have changed after the sisters were spotted meeting up and sharing jokes with outspoken TV host Piers Morgan at a pub.

A source told OK! Magazine that the couple are "astonished" that his cousins have "gone behind their backs."

"After everything Piers has said about them as a couple – especially Meghan, who he’s called so many names – Harry and Meghan are astonished that they’ve gone behind their backs," the source revealed.

They added: "It will be interesting to see how Harry interacts with his cousins during the Coronation."

Dynamo

Illusionist Dynamo is another famous face who has been invited to the Coronation, which could spell good news for Harry.

Dynamo has praised The Prince's Trust's Enterprise programme for helping change his life and has gone on to become an ambassador.

Dynamo doing a trick for Charles back in 2013 (AFP via Getty Images)

The magician, real name Steven Frayne, has a string of celebrity fans, but one of his most famous is the Duke of Sussex, who he met back in 2014.

Harry was so impressed by his illusionary skills he offered him the Crown jewels in exchange for learning how he pulls them off.

"Harry is very cool. He came to a performance I did at The Olympics," revealed Dynamo at the time.

"He was trying to get my secrets by trying to bribe me with the Crown Jewels.”

Dynamo and Harry could reignite their magical bond at the Coronation.

Tiggy

Alexandra Pettifer, better known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke, was Harry and William's childhood nanny.

Tiggy was the boys' favourite nanny and Charles' personal assistant from 1993 to 1999.

Tiggy Legge-Bourke with King Charles and Prince Harry in 1993 (Getty)

In his book Spare, Harry admitted Princess Diana saw Tiggy as a rival and suspected she was being groomed to be her replacement.

Tiggy, who has remained close to both the princes, once referred o the pair as "my babies".

But she's no stranger to tough love, as Harry also revealed that Tiggy was one of the loved ones who chastised him for doing the bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview in 2021.

While it's never been officially announced, it's been widely reported that Tiggy was chosen to be one of Achie's godparents.

IF she has been invited to the Coronation, she would take time to support both Harry and William.

Mark Dyer

Royal aide Mark Dyer was the trusted protector of Prince Harry.

Known affectionately to the prince as 'Marko', Harry looked up to him as a mentor and they spent a lot of time together.

Harry respected Marko for being "an extreme ginger and owning it" and was seen by the young prince as a 'second dad'.

Prince Harry (R), alongside former Royal Equerry Mark Dyer (AFP via Getty Images)

According to Penny Junor, author of the 2014 biography Prince Harry: Brother, Soldier, Son, Mark is "one of the few people who talks some sense into [Prince Harry] at times".

Dyer regularly pops up in stories from Harry's teenage years in his memoir Spare, such as when King Charles tasked the aide with looking after Harry and taking him to Botswana.

The royal household sent Marko to give Harry a telling off when he was taking drugs during his Eton schooldays.

Not realising what he was actually there to tell him off about, Harry hilariously revealed the story of how he lost his virginity to an older woman in a field.

It's not known whether Marko, who is also believed to be one of Archie's three godparents, is attending the Coronation - but he would be by Harry's side.

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