Attend or alienate. Prince Harry risks forfeiting any chance of reconciling with the royal family if he skips King Charles III’s coronation in May, according to royal expert Alexander Larman.
“If he [doesn’t] go to the coronation, he’s essentially saying, ‘I am not gonna have any relationship with my family ever again,’” the journalist exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, March 29, while promoting his book The Windsors at War: The King, His Brother and a Family Divided, which hits shelves on April 18.
Larman added that he’d be “amazed” if the Duke of Sussex, 38, doesn’t attend the event despite his and wife Meghan Markle’s rocky relationship with the royal family.
The couple — who tied the knot in May 2018 and share son Archie, 3, and daughter Lilibet, 21 months — have been outspoken about their negative experiences with the Institution since stepping down from their working roles in 2020. In his memoir, Spare, released in January, Harry aired grievances with several high-ranking royals including his father, Charles, 74, and his brother, Prince William.
In the tell-all, the former military pilot claimed that he and William, 40, got into a physical fight in 2019 after the Duke of Cambridge allegedly called Meghan, 41, “difficult” and “rude.” According to Harry, his brother “knocked [him] to the floor” during the altercation.
In addition to making claims about the Prince of Wales — who is currently first in line for the British throne — the BetterUp CIO claimed that that his father once told him there wasn’t “enough money to go around” for him and Meghan, despite The Firm providing support for William and his wife, Princess Kate.
“Pa might have dreaded the rising cost of maintaining us, but what he really couldn’t stomach was someone new dominating the monarchy, grabbing the limelight, someone shiny and new coming in and overshadowing him. He’d lived through that before, and had no interest in living through it again,” Harry wrote, alluding to his late mother, Princess Diana.
Despite the bombshell claims, the Archewell cofounder claimed during a January ITV interview that he wants to reconcile with his father and brother.
“I would like to get my father back. I would like to have my brother back,” he said at the time.
Larman, however, told Us that he thinks Harry knew his memoir would lead to lasting estrangement from the royal clan.
“To publish a book like Spare with that level of attack on your family is essentially ending any kind of relationship you’re ever going to have,” he said, adding that he doesn’t think Harry has any “interest whatsoever in reconciling.”
The historian also told Us that he thinks the royal family “should have responded” to the memoir. “I think that William should’ve given an interview in which he extended the hand of brotherhood. He should’ve said, ‘We’re all very concerned about him. We understand that he had the most awful traumatic shock when his mother died so young. We know life has been hard for him,'” Larman said.
In addition to speaking out about his relatives, the prince has also criticized the U.K. media for its treatment of him and his family over the years. Earlier this week, Harry — who relocated to the United States with Meghan in 2020 — took a trip back across the pond for his lawsuit against the publishing company Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher behind sites including Daily Mail, Mail Online and the Mail on Sunday.
Along with other plaintiffs including Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, the author claims to be the victim of “abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy,” per a statement released by the U.K. law firm Hamlins in October 2022. The trial began on Monday, March 27.
Harry’s trip to the U.K. comes just months before Charles’ coronation, set for May 6 — the same day as Archie’s 4th birthday. Queen Consort Camilla — who, like Charles, automatically assumed her new title upon Queen Elizabeth II’s death in September 2022 — will be crowned as well.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
