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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
World
Kyle O'Sullivan

Experts say Prince William made 'dig' at Harry and Meghan during Coronation speech

Royal experts say Prince William made a sly 'dig' at his younger brother Harry and wife Meghan during his King Charles' Coronation Concert.

Eagle-eyed fans of the family were also quite to point out the hidden message during his heartfelt speech dedicated to his father and the key workers of Britain, which had thousands of people applauding.

He claimed the late Queen would be a "proud mum" seeing her son being crowned King and thanked his "Pa" for his commitment.

READ MORE - Prince Harry confesses he's 'fed up' during candid Coronation chat, lip reader says

But he also appeared to make reference to a barb thrown out by the Sussexes, who once said: "We can all live a life of service. Service is universal," reports the Mirror.

During his powerful speech, William said: "For all that celebrations are magnificent, at the heart of the pageantry is a simple message - service."

Lots of people took to Twitter after hearing William's words - with many believing it was a definite dig at Harry and Meghan.

One viewer said: "Service Harry. Do you hear that? Not a free ride."

"SERVICE. Something Harry doesn't understand," added another.

A third asked: "‘Service….’ ‘To serve…..’ ‘served…..’ Wonder who that was a dig at….. "

When the Sussexes controversially decided to quit life as working royals, Buckingham Palace released a statement about them stepping away from their duties.

It read: "Following conversations with the Duke, the Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of the Royal Family it is not possible to continue with responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service."

They hit back by issuing their own statement, which read: "We can all live a life of service. Service is universal."

It caused controversy at the time, with many pointing out they would now be doing more commercial work and less for charities in order to support themselves financially.

William got huge cheers from the 20,000 people in attendance at the concert, including thousands of heroes from the coronavirus pandemic.

He dropped in a dad joke in reference to headliner Lionel Richie, promising not to "go on all night long".

"I want to say a few words about my father, and why I believe this weekend is so important," he continued.

"As my Grandmother said when she was crowned, Coronations are a declaration of our hopes for the future.

"And I know she’s up there, fondly keeping an eye on us. She would be a proud mother."

At the end of his big moment, William gave a final tribute to his beloved father, which left many in tears.

"Pa, we are all so proud of you," said Wills. "I commit myself to serve you all. King, Country and Commonwealth. God Save The King!"

There were no direct interactions between Harry and William, with organisers making sure they did not confront one another.

But there was one moment when Harry reacted to William at the start of the ceremony.

As William and Kate proceeded to their seats, Harry caught sight of his brother and performed an "ignore" gesture, according to body language expert Judi James.

She told the Mirror: "Harry performed what looked like an oddly-times act of ignore or attention diversion as his father, brother and sister-in-law walked in a procession in front of him.

"Harry had been chatting animatedly to Edoardo, jerking a thumb over his shoulder at one point, sharing a giggling laugh that seemed to involve his tongue placed between his teeth, and then doing a mutual, mirrored eye gaze with a matching lip clamp smile to Edo that seemed to signal mutual sympathy or empathy.

"Harry was looking up as Charles, William and Kate arrived to walk past but after looking at his father, Harry turned his head to speak to Eduardo again in a very odd way at a crucial point in the ceremony when all eyes and attention were on Charles and William's arrival."

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