King Charles III visits Aboyne and Mid Deeside Community Shed to meet with local hardship support groups and tour the new facilities, in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire
(Picture: REUTERS)The King is focused on state visits to Germany and France amid reports that senior royals want to ban the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from the coronation, the Standard understands.
It is believed the King wants members of the royal household and his family to adopt a “keep calm and carry on” approach despite the fallout over his second son’s bestselling memoir Spare.
The King is said to be working on preparations for two planned state visits at the end of March to France and Germany. These will be the first state visits of his reign and he will be accompanied by Queen Camilla. His team is said to be finalising details with the Foreign Office and he will be joined by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on the visits.
While Buckingham Palace is not commenting, the Standard understands the King is putting his energy into making the visits his priority.
One senior figure told the Standard: “These two visits to our closest and most influential European neighbours are hugely important for cementing our diplomatic and deeper ties with these countries. This soft power diplomacy is what our King and the royal family do and do well. When all the noise dies down and it will, the King and the working royals will continue to do what is important, working for our great country for the people of our great country.”
The explosive claims in the book have cast doubt on preparations for the King’s coronation — with senior royals, said to include Prince Edward and Princess Anne, thought to have concerns about Harry and Meghan’s presence at the historic event.
As well as fears their attendance could overshadow the ceremony, there are also worries about whether more secrets could be reproduced in an updated edition of the book.
One royal source told The Sun: “There have been discussions among the family, including Edward and Anne. They do not want private conversations at the coronation making it into the paperback edition of Spare.”
The King was on Thursday in Scotland for his first public engagement since Harry’s bombshell memoir hit the shops. His visit included a trip to Aberdeenshire to the Aboyne and Mid-Deeside Community Shed to tour its new facilities and meet local charity groups.
His return to royal duties comes as Spare became the fastest selling non-fiction book in history after hitting shelves on Tuesday. Its sales have been boosted by headlines around the world recounting stories of sex, drugs and war in Afghanistan, including Harry’s claim he killed 25 members of the Taliban.
The memoir also details Harry’s tempestuous relationship with his family, including allegations of a violent argument with his brother that ended with William knocking Harry over during a clash at his London home.
According to the publisher, the English language edition of Spare sold more than 1.4 million copies across the UK, Canada and the US on Tuesday.
President and publisher of the Random House Group Gina Centrello said: “While many books by public figures can be fairly categorised as ‘celebrity memoir’, Spare is not that.
“Vulnerable and heartfelt, brave and intimate, Spare is the story of someone we may have thought we already knew, but now we can truly come to understand Prince Harry through his own words.
“Looking at these extraordinary first day sales, readers clearly agree, Spare is a book that demands to be read, and it is a book we are proud to publish.” During the publicity blitz for the book, Harry revealed he has not spoken to his brother or father for some time.
He also risked deepening the rift with Charles with a series of critical remarks in the book about his stepmother Camilla — including claims he and his brother did not want his father to marry her and that her bid to rehabilitate her public image came at a cost to his.
Asked by ITV journalist Tom Bradby whether he will attend the coronation if he is invited, Harry said: “There’s a lot that can happen between now and then.
“But the door is always open. The ball is in their court. There’s a lot to be discussed and I really hope that they’re willing to sit down and talk about it.”
