Camilla Parker Bowles is set to officially become Queen when the coronation of King Charles takes place next summer. The Royal Family will undoubtedly be in attendance to witness the historic moment, though it has yet to be confirmed if all of them will be there.
Put simply, only time will tell if Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will fly to the UK to attend the coronation. Now, this isn’t because of the time it would take, or the disruption to their usual schedule, but rather due to the strained relationship with the Prince and soon-to-be Queen Consort.
Camilla has reportedly tried hard to create a good relationship with her stepson and his wife over the years. But, according to a royal expert, she’s been hurt by how the couple have treated King Charles.
The UK hasn’t seen a coronation since June 2, 1953, when the coronation of Elizabeth II took place at Westminster Abbey. Next year, however, the coronation of King Charles will happen, and just days ago, details of the big event were revealed. Interestingly, King Charles looks set to drop an old tradition.
The exact, official date of King Charles’ coronation has been set for May 6 in Westminster Abbey, the Palace has confirmed.
According to a press statement, King Charles’ coronation “will reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry.”
“The Coronation is a solemn religious service, together with an occasion for celebration and pageantry,” the statement read.
Earlier reports suggested it might occur on the 70th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation – or the day after, on June 3.
But even though it’s now set for slightly earlier, the date still holds special significance for royals. Not for King Charles, maybe, but certainly for Harry and Meghan.
May 6 will mark the 4th birthday of Harry and Meghan’s son, Archie. How the couple reacted to the fact that Charles’s coronation will be on the same date has not yet been revealed. Neither has it been confirmed if Harry and Meghan will be invited or not.
According to royal expert Katie Nicholl, Harry and Meghan will be asked to attend the coronation. She told Entertainment Tonight that King Charles and Camilla would want them in attendance.
“Behind the scenes, Camilla has done really everything she can to try and bring this family back together, and press the importance of trying to move on from this rift, and I think she would be very pleased, as would the king for Harry and Meghan to be at the coronation,” she said.
“It remains to be seen whether or not they attend. But of course, it will be down to the Sussexes to make the ultimate decision as to whether they’re going to come over for King Charles’ coronation on May 6.”
In 1954, when the Queen was crowned, the event was huge. According to the official royal website, more than 8,000 guests attended Westminster Abbey for the coronation. In addition, an incredible 129 nations were officially represented.
As tradition dictates, the monarch was presented with many gold objects, including a robe, bracelets, and spurs.
According to the Royal Collection Trust, during the coronation service, the orb is placed in the monarch’s right hand as they are invested with the symbols of sovereignty. It is then placed on the altar before the moment of crowning.
King Charles – whose coronation has been given the codename “Operation Golden Orb” – will receive the orb and scepter as symbols of his new role as monarch. Then, the Archbishop of Canterbury will place a solid gold crown on his head.
The Queen’s crowning was a fabulous and significant event. However, King Charles is reportedly veering slightly away from tradition and doing things differently.
According to Daily Mail sources, he will dramatically decrease the number of guests to just over 2,000. Also, the ancient traditions – for example, the presentation of the Orb and Scepter. – will be shortened to about one hour. According to the Mail, the Queen’s coronation lasted about three hours
The monarch is reportedly also planning to order a more relaxed dress code. For example, he will “possibly allow” lounge suits instead of peers wearing ceremonial robes.
Of course, it isn’t only King Charles who will receive a new, lofty title on the day of his coronation. No, it’s been confirmed that Camilla will officially be made Queen Consort on the same day.
The official guest list will most likely not be revealed until next year, but speculation about whether Harry and Meghan will be there or not is already in full throttle.
The main talking point, of course, is the rift between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the Royal family not yet being settled. Like King Charles and Prince William, Camilla has shown her frustration towards the royal couple, though in the past, she had reportedly tried hard to create a warm and loving bond with her husband’s son and his wife.
Suffice it to say that Camilla and Harry’s relationship has had its fair share of drama – and things are still reportedly strenuous today.
Prince Harry was about to turn 13 when his mother, Princess Diana, passed away in Paris. He and William had to walk behind her coffin as she was laid to rest, an act they were both critical of being forced to do later on in life.
The brothers were left without a loving mother who had always made sure to raise them just like normal children. They then got a stepmother in Camilla, though she and Harry often clashed.
“I think they found it hard”
Harry, of course, missed his mother dearly. When he met Camilla for the first time, it was said to have been “awkward and tense.”
“I think the relationship between them all is warm now but if I’m honest, it wasn’t then. I think they found it hard,” a palace source told royal biographer Penny Junor, author of Prince William: Born to be King.
“To be fair to Camilla, she never tried to be mummy but she was the ‘other woman’ and she was there and taking daddy’s time.”
Indeed, other royal experts also paint a picture of Harry and Camila not getting along initially.
In her book The Palace Papers, royal author Tina Brown wrote that Harry “unnerved” Camilla.
“When the younger boy was eventually prevailed upon to be in the presence of Mrs Parker Bowles, he unnerved her with long silences and smouldering, resentful stares,” she quoted a courtier saying.
Moreover – when it was announced that Camilla was to become Queen Consort – Brown claimed that Harry wouldn’t accept it.
“William has accepted Camilla in terms of what she means to his father. He’s been grown-up about it. “My father loves this woman, I can’t fight it, so I won’t,” she said.
“Harry, on the other hand, can’t stand Camilla, he doesn’t want Camilla to be Queen, he’s very angry that it’s happening. He has not made his peace with it and he probably never will.”
Harry and Camilla’s relationship has undoubtedly had its ups and downs. In 2005, when he turned 21, he said that he and his brother William “loved her to bits” and thanked her for making his father, King Charles, very happy.
At the same time, however, tensions between them have continued to fester. As a friend of the brothers once said, they have never been incredibly close to her.
When Harry and Meghan left the UK, relationships between them and the Royal Family grew strained. Camilla, of course, is among those who have reason to have disliked the couple’s approach when they opened up on a number of sensitive topics – some are worried that Harry will drop bombshells about her in his upcoming biography.
Unfortunately, that’s not all, either. Royal biographer and expert Angela Levin recently spoke to Sky News, claiming that Camilla is “very upset” with Harry and Meghan. The couple previously claimed that Charles and William are “trapped” inside the monarchy; a comment Camilla didn’t like at all.
“I think she’s very cautious. She doesn’t try to push herself towards them. She gets very upset when they hurt King Charles, she was very sorry for him,” Angela Levin said.
“But she understands how parents can love their children but absolutely dislike what they’re doing.”
“She doesn’t want to see anyone struggling”
Meghan told The Cut earlier this year that her husband had “lost” his father, and King Charles had been very hurt. Meghan and Harry, along with their children, reportedly spent time with King Charles (then-Prince) during the Platinum Jubilee in June. According to Daily Mail sources, Charles “loves and misses” his grandchildren.
As per sources, not only did Camilla try to be good to Harry, but also to Meghan, when the actress was first welcomed into the Royal Family.
She was said to have greeted the US native “warmly,” and according to Angela Levin, there was a good reason for that. Camilla knew that it wasn’t easy to be a “newcomer” in the Royal Family. In fact, she knew “more than anyone” how difficult it is to accept into the Firm.
In the beginning, Camilla even invited Meghan to go out for lunches, but according to Levin, Meghan wasn’t interested. Instead, she seemed “bored, was unresponsive and preferred to go her own way.”
In her book, Levin said: “She tried to be supportive, was happy to be her mentor, and took her out for private lunches.
“A source at the time told me: ‘She doesn’t want to see anyone struggling, and she is fond of Meghan.’ Meghan, however, seemed bored, was unresponsive and preferred to go her own way, with the result that the Queen Consort’s advice landed on stony ground,” she wrote.
“The Duchess always felt quite wary of Harry and used to see him out of the corner of her eye looking at her in a long and cold way,” she added. “She found it rather unnerving. Otherwise, they got on quite well.”