Showing her support. Gayle King is proud of how Prince Harry and Meghan Markle handled their final decision about King Charles III‘s coronation.
“I think Meghan and Harry should do what’s best for them,” the journalist, 68, exclusively told Us Weekly at the Time100 red carpet on Wednesday, April 26. “Clearly they know what’s going on in their family life. They know what’s going on over there.”
King explained that she doesn’t offer the Duke and Duchess of Sussex any unsolicited advice about their relationship with the royal family. “They consult me about nothing when it comes to that or anything for that matter,” she added. “I think they make the decision that’s best for them. But I think — as [far as] his dad — I’m glad he’s going.”
Buckingham Palace confirmed earlier this month that the BetterUp CIO, 38, will be attending his father’s May 6 coronation ceremony solo. One month prior, Us confirmed that Harry and Meghan, 41, were invited to the event, which happens to fall on son Archie’s fourth birthday.
“The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet,” the palace statement read, adding that Harry will be overseas to support Charles, 74, at Westminster Abbey.
According to King, Harry and Meghan are in “a really good place” amid public ups and downs with the royals. “You’ve seen the two of them together and I know what they have is really true-blue. And it’s good to see the happiness that they give each other,” she gushed on Wednesday about the pair, who also share daughter Lili, 22 months.
Harry and Meghan initially stepped down from their senior roles in 2020. Following their permanent exit, the duo candidly addressed their time with the royal family in a Netflix docuseries late last year.
Meanwhile, Harry raised eyebrows when he discussed his rocky relationship with brother Prince William in his Spare memoir. “Two years older than me, Willy was the Heir, whereas I was the Spare. This wasn’t merely how the press referred to us — though it was definitely that. This was shorthand often used by Pa and Mummy and Grandpa. And even Granny,” he wrote in the book, which was released in January. “I was summoned to provide backup, distraction, diversion and, if necessary, a spare part. Kidney, perhaps. Blood transfusion. Speck of bone marrow. This was all made explicitly clear to me from the start of life’s journey and regularly reinforced after.”
Harry went on to recall getting into a physical fight with William after the latter allegedly called Meghan “difficult” and “rude” in 2019.
“It all happened so fast. So very fast,” he claimed. “He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dogs’ bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.”
At the time, a source told Us that the Prince of Wales, 40, “doesn’t see how” his younger brother could “come back into the fold” of the firm amid the drama. “At this point, he’s got no plans to speak to Harry,” the insider told Us that same month. “He’s come to terms with the fact [that] he’s lost his little brother and quite possibly for life.”
Ahead of Harry’s upcoming trip to the U.K., royal expert Tessa Dunlop weighed in on his potential concerns.
“I think it’s going to be a bit of a nightmare for him,” she told Us earlier this month. “I was watching the body language when he came out of St George’s Chapel when [Queen Elizabeth II] had finally been laid to rest [in September 2022] on the last day of the funeral itself. He was helping Meghan into the car, and he just wasn’t a man who was comfortable in his skin. And this time he’s coming over without the support of Meghan.”
Dunlop noted how Meghan’s absence could affect Harry’s time around his family, adding, “Clearly he does lean on her very heavily. I think clearly, they bonded. They both had painful childhoods [and] took solace in each other’s respective narratives. And he’s coming alone. That means he’s exposed effectively. He will be made to sit [farther from the royals] at best. So, he will have that feeling of demotion.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
