Prince Harry will attend the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla without his wife, Meghan Markle, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The Duchess of Sussex will instead remain at the couple’s home in California with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
“Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that the Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on 6 May,” the statement, shared on Wednesday (12 April), read.
“The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.”
The news comes after months of speculation as to whether the couple would attend the event, which is taking place on Saturday 6 May.
Following the announcement from the Palace, royal expert Omid Scobie tweeted: “I understand that Archie’s fourth birthday (also on 6 May) played a factor in the couple’s decision.”
He added: “Expect it to be a fairly quick trip to the UK for Prince Harry, who will only be attending the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey.”
Harry laid bare his grievances with the royal family in his controversial autobiography Spare, released in January, along with his and Meghan’s Netflix documentary series, Harry and Meghan.
The memoir broke records to become the fastest-selling non-fiction book upon its release, selling 1.4 million copies on the first day.
In March, the Duke made a surprise visit to the UK for a hearing at the High Court in London for his claim against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers, over allegations of unlawful information-gathering.
The publisher is seeking to end High Court claims brought by people including Harry, Sir Elton John and Baroness Doreen Lawrence over alleged unlawful activity at its titles.
It is alleged that the unlawful acts included hiring private investigators to secretly place listening devices inside cars and homes and the recording of private phone conversations.
The publisher hit back at the allegations, describing them at the time as “preposterous smears” and a “pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone-hacking scandal”.
Charles and Camilla’s coronation is being held at Westminster Abbey in London, with 2,000 guests expected to be in attendance. This comes in stark contrast to the 8,000 guests present at the Queen’s coronation in 1953.
Charles will turn 74 years old in November 2022, making him the oldest person to be crowned in British history.
