The prince is furious: scandals around the coronation of Charles III, Harry and Meghan have gained momentum

A priori scandalous topic on the eve of the coronation was the participation (or non-participation) in the celebrations of the “prodigal couple” of the British monarchy – the Dukes of Sussex. The long-drawn-out intrigue was resolved when Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Harry would honor the ceremony with his presence, while his wife Meghan would stay with the children in California.

Already in such a separate pastime during the most significant event in the life of the current sovereign of the United Kingdom, an overtly scandalous shade is visible.

“We don’t know,” says Sky News royal correspondent Laura Bundock about the participation of the Duke of Sussex in the coronation, “whether a place will be freed up for him in the procession of carriages and even if he will now be offered a place on the balcony …

Harry has made it clear in his biography and subsequent interviews that “we have a lot to discuss” before he decides whether or not to come. He said he wanted to sit at the table with his family and that “the ball is on their side.”

Whether these conversations took place is unknown, but something convinced Harry to come. Megan’s decision not to come is much more subtle. We haven’t seen her in the UK since the Queen’s funeral. Her absence will certainly look like the rift between her and the royal family is far from being closed.

In fact, there are no hints of any rapprochement between Harry and high-ranking members of the royal family. In any case, this will be good news for the king, and he will be glad that both of his sons will see the moment of his coronation.

And according to The Sun tabloid sources, Harry had a heart-to-heart talk with his father the king before agreeing to come to the coronation from sunny Montecito. Insiders claim that between them there was a “willingness and desire to improve relations on both sides”, despite even the explosive revelations of the prince in his memoirs “Spare”.

But it is doubtful that the stay of the Duke of Sussex at the coronation will do without a hitch. Even in the best of circumstances, the palace is unlikely to want Harry to attract the attention of the media and other public. Although the invitation took into account the good behavior of the prince and Meghan both at the Platinum Jubilee and at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, although even then there were fears that they would try to draw attention to themselves.

As royal expert and senior lecturer in history at the University of Manchester, Dr Jonathan Spangler, noted in comments to Express.co.uk, the arrival of the youngest son of Charles III will most likely mean not only increased security measures, but also the appearance of two “layers” of paparazzi, which will be interested in capturing the prince at the event: “There is one level of paparazzi who are interested in covering the royal celebration. But there is the next level of paparazzi who are interested in this story, in the scandal.”

In addition, the security issues of the prince remain in limbo – there was no agreement on a security plan. Harry is suing the British Home Office, alleging that it was illegal to deprive him of 24-hour armed police protection while he was in the UK.

Andrew will be forced to dress in civilian clothes

If Prince Harry is assigned the role of the “prodigal son” in the British royal family, who – if he repents of his rebellion – can be forgiven and even favored, then his uncle and the monarch’s younger brother Prince Andrew would rather be labeled as “black sheep”. This member of the ruling family turned out to be involved in a scandal with sexual violence (and even against a minor), which the prince always denied.

And now passions have flared up in the press: will King Charles allow his brother, the Duke of York, to wear regalia for the coronation or not?

The Duke of York is extremely agitated by the fact that he is being kept in the dark about the decision on whether he can wear a magnificent velvet robe and glittering insignia denoting his status as a knight of the Order of the Garter, the Daily Mirror writes.

Prince Andrew was forced to step down from royal duties due to a sex scandal. Last year, he paid £12m out of court to his accuser Virginia Giuffra and was subsequently barred from appearing next to the Queen at her final appearance at Windsor’s traditional Garter Day procession.

Meanwhile, on Coronation Day, May 6, members of the Order of the Garter – the oldest and most senior order of chivalry in the UK – may wear regalia and chains symbolizing British orders of chivalry.

What’s more, Prince Andrew now faces an order to wear a civilian suit after being stripped of his military rank as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, though he remains a Vice Admiral due to his past service in the Royal Navy.

“Andrew is furious,” royal insiders say. “He no longer plays any role, and now he feels that he is not respected and dictated to him what to wear.”

Pop stars are hyped

Several of Britain’s most famous pop artists turned down the opportunity to perform at the coronation of Charles III.

In 1997, visiting the royal gala evening, singer Geri Halliwell kissed Prince Charles on the cheek, recalls Rolling Stone magazine. According to royal protocol and etiquette, it is only allowed to shake hands with members of the royal family, so the scandalous moment hit the front pages of newspapers and entered the history of pop culture. Now the Spice Girls avoid him altogether. The group was among a number of pop stars who turned down the opportunity to perform at the coronation on May 6th.

Adele, Harry Styles, Robbie Williams and Elton John were also reportedly approached to play, but turned down the offer. All of these artists’ teams declined to comment, with the exception of Elton John, who confirmed that he had been invited but was unable to perform due to scheduling issues.

In the past, musicians would practically line up in front of the palace to perform at any major royal event, but that has now changed.

The press has linked this to various scandals within the royal family, including Prince Andrew’s relationship with notorious financier Jeffrey Epstein and allegations of sexual assault against the king’s brother.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have also been embroiled in controversy over their accusations against the royal family and the British press. According to prominent British publicist Simon Jones, “The royal family has been dealing with a number of PR disasters of late, and anyone who performs on the show will have to consider whether it will create a backlash among their fans.”

Another PR expert, Kingsley Hall, explained that people are tired of the negative coverage of the royal family, including allegations of racism and sexual assault – and it is likely for this reason that some stars will not participate in the coronation celebrations.

According to the media, for many artists, the refusal to participate in the event was a ridiculously simple decision, since the very idea of ​​\u200b\u200bmonarchy is quite alien to their Millennial and Generation Z fans. And if the advanced public still perceived the late Elizabeth II as the “grandmother of the nation”, then Charles III clearly does not pull on the “grandfather of all Britain”.

Representatives of British pop music PR companies also point out that the cost of the coronation at a time when the crisis in the cost of living in the UK has reached a dangerous peak, looks like a political statement.

So it’s no surprise that the once highly prized honor of performing at the biggest royal event has turned into a potential PR nightmare. “It seems that in 2023 the royal family needs musicians more than the musicians in themselves,” states Rolling Stone.

However, it would be a mistake to say that all the stars suddenly took and refused to speak at coronation events. So, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Italian opera star Andrea Bocelli agreed to perform at the upcoming May 7 concert on the occasion of the coronation of Charles III. Among the declared participants is also the band Take That. Also expected are Welsh bass-baritone Sir Bryn Terfel, singer Freya Ridings and classical music composer Alexis Ffrench.

Instead of Biden – wife

An element of scandal was also revealed in the announcement by an anonymous source in the US administration that the US president would most likely not take part in the coronation of Charles III. According to information leaked to the press, Biden can send his wife to London instead.

Apparently to sweeten the Allies’ pill, the White House issued a message in early April: “The President congratulated the King on his upcoming coronation and informed him that First Lady Jill Biden looks forward to attending on behalf of the United States.”

In fact, traditionally, no American president has attended a coronation celebration in the UK – after all, the founding fathers of the United States wrested independence from the British crown by force of arms. For example, 70 years ago, Dwight Eisenhower did not go to Britain to attend the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, but sent a delegation of his representatives of not the highest sort.

So Biden did nothing out of the ordinary. However, his absence was taken by some of the most zealous British monarchists as a spit on Albion, who immediately remembered how the American president spoke about his Irish mother’s hatred for the London monarchy. In his memoirs, Biden claimed that his mother once refused to sleep in the bed that the Queen once slept in.

GB News anchor Mark Dolan angrily responded: “The UK, America’s closest ally – economic, military and diplomatic partner on the world stage – will not be honored with the presence of a man so feeble-minded that the cast of the sitcom Last of the Summer Wine, a popular comedy series that has been in production since the early 1970s – MK) looks positively upbeat.”

Dolan called the likely absence of the President of the United States from the coronation event “an extraordinary diplomatic affront to the United Kingdom”.

Tory Member of Parliament Bob Seeley is not far behind the host: “If I were the President of the United States, I would come to the coronation of the King of England – there are no two options. It just looks like a stupid decision.”

Whether Biden likes the British or not is a separate question, but it is significant that he and the first lady traveled to London last September to attend the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

“Let the king apologize”

And finally, on the eve of the coronation, left-liberal adherents of political correctness and the “culture of awakening” added their fly in the ointment to the honey barrel of celebration. Former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan called on King Charles (and the British government along the way) to apologize for the historical links to the slave trade.

In February, Trevelyan traveled to Grenada and read her family’s official apology to the islanders, descendants of slaves, and announced a £100,000 education fund from her own savings. The fact is that her ancestors in past centuries owned at least a thousand slaves on this Caribbean island.

But the conscientious continuer of the slave trader family did not have enough of her own repentance. And now Trevelyan decided to persuade Charles III. She told The Times: “We apologized, why can’t the king? Payback is coming.”

Earlier in April, King Charles announced that he would be collaborating on research into the British monarchy’s historical links to transatlantic slavery following the emergence of a document confirming that one of his predecessors on the throne had a stake in a slave trading company.

The Guardian newspaper published a previously unknown document showing the transfer in 1689 of £1,000 worth of shares in the Royal African Slave Trade Company to King William III.

At this point, Charles III at the very time to be in the role of the king from the “Ordinary Miracle”: “It’s not my fault! The ancestors are to blame! Great-grandfathers, great-grandmothers, great uncles and aunts are different, forefathers, well, and foremothers! In life, they behaved like the last pigs, and now I’m disentangling their past.