Meghan Markle, Archie, & Lilibet Won't Attend King Charles' Coronation With Prince Harry

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have officially submitted their RSVPs for King Charles’ coronation next month. Buckingham Palace confirmed that the Duke of Sussex will attend the royal ceremony for his father on May 6, which falls on his son Archie’s fourth birthday, but the rest of his family will remain at home in Montecito, California.

“Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that The Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on May 6th,” the palace said in a statement on Wednesday. “The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.”

Prior to the palace’s confirmation, there were reportedly “negotiations” happening between Buckingham Palace and the Sussexes about what their attendance would involve, including seating arrangements and questions about whether their children would have roles in the ceremony like Prince William and Kate Middleton’s kids. But royal commentator Omid Scobie reported that it was Archie’s birthday that “played a factor in the couple’s decision” on their attendance. Scobie added that it will likely be a “fairly quick trip to the UK for Prince Harry, who will only be attending the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey.”

While Prince Harry was recently in London to attend court as part of a privacy lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail, this will be his first appearance with the rest of the royal family since the release of his memoir Spare and the couple’s Netflix’s docuseries, Harry & Meghan last year. Tensions have indeed been high since then, with reports suggesting that King Charles began evicting the Sussexes from their former UK home at Frogmore Cottage the day after Harry’s book was released and sources saying Prince William was “most upset” by his brother’s allegations in Spare.

But it sounds like King Charles’ coronation is simply too big to miss. A friend of Prince Harry told People that he “wanted to be at the service to support his father at this important moment in his life.”

Now the next question on everyone’s mind is will the Duke of Sussex have a role in his father’s coronation? According to The Guardian, probably not. What’s more, Prince Harry may not even be on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with the rest of his family, as he’s no longer a working royal. “The King has been very clear who he wants to represent the monarchy,” a source told The Mirror. “There is little room for sentiment, this is a State occasion, not a family occasion and it is right that only the working members of the family are there at the big public moment.”