Prince William And Prince Harry Will Reportedly Be Kept A Distance Apart At King Charles' Coronation
The traditions and elaborate trappings of royalty will be on full display on May 6, 2023, at the coronation of King Charles III. For the event, the king will wear two different crowns, and he will ride in two different gilded coaches. The first will be the Diamond Jubilee State Coach for the arrival of King Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort at Westminster Abbey. On the way back, they'll be riding in the Gold State Coach, which is 260 years old and has to be pulled by eight horses. While the couple will likely be all smiles, they may be finding it a bumpy ride. In a 2018 documentary, Queen Elizabeth II called the experience of riding in the coach "horrible" and "not very comfortable" (via YouTube).
Along with the newly crowned king and queen, the procession after the coronation will feature other members of the royal family, including the kids of the prince and princess of Wales, according to The Times. But one royal you shouldn't expect to see in the procession is Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. While Buckingham Palace finally confirmed Harry and Meghan's coronation plan that Harry alone will be there, he won't likely be at any of the other coronation celebration events. And his appearance at the coronation will reportedly be carefully coordinated to avoid any confrontation with his brother Prince William.
Don't expect to see a public reunion between Prince Harry and Prince William
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex had no choice but to attend King Charles' coronation. But while he's going to be there for the big event, don't expect to see him with his brother William, Prince of Wales. As the coronation plans are being finalized, part of those plans reportedly includes making sure that Harry and William will be kept separate, per The Express. The brothers haven't spoken in months, and it doesn't seem like we'll be seeing any brotherly chit-chat at the coronation as tensions still seem to be running high between Harry and his family.
Princes William and Harry will not be arriving or leaving Westminster Abbey at the same time, and Harry will be seated far enough behind William that there won't be any pictures of the brothers together. Since Harry is not a working royal, he will also not be making an appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony after the coronation, where in the past he used to be seen next to or near his brother, according to The Mirror. Harry seems to be planning to make his U.K. trip quick — attending the coronation but not much else, via The Daily Mail.
Prince Harry and Prince William have rarely been seen together in recent years
The tactic of keeping William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex apart at major events is one that has been used by the palace before. The last time we saw William and Harry at an event together was at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, and the brothers and their wives were seated on different sides of the aisle. That is pretty close to what happened a few months earlier at the Queen's Platinum Jubilee service of thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral. The now-Prince and Princess of Wales arrived after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were already seated in a different part of the church, and there weren't any public interactions between them, according to People.
Since Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals, one of the only times the two couples have been seen interacting was when they visited well-wishers outside of Windsor Castle after the death of Queen Elizabeth. Kate allegedly said it was "one of the hardest things she had to do," considering the fallout between the brothers, via The Daily Mail. The rift only seems likely to have widened. Since the funeral, the public has become privy to a number of dramatic behind-the-scenes moments between them thanks to the Netflix docuseries "Harry & Meghan" and Harry's memoir "Spare."