Prince William does not want Prince Harry at his coronation, according to a Sunday Times article published Saturday to mark Harry’s 40th birthday in September.
The Duke of Cambridge, 42, reportedly let it be known that he wants his crowning — which will happen after his dad King Charles III, 75, dies — to “look and feel different,” with one difference possibly being Harry’s absence from the ceremony.
William’s friends said that, as of now, William does not want Harry, 39, at the coronation.
After quitting his job as a working royal and moving to California in 2020, Harry notoriously aired his family’s dirty laundry in his and wife Meghan Markle’s 2021 interview with Oprah, their “Harry & Meghan” Netflix docuseries, and his tell-all memoir, “Spare.”
He’s estranged from his brother as well as their father, who became monarch after Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022.
“The problem for the King and other members of the family is the worry that if they have a chat with Harry, it will appear in ‘Spare’ volume two,” said one of Charles’ friends. “How do you regain the trust? I don’t think Harry ever can.”
“But from the conversations I’ve had with the King, I would never say their relationship is irreparable,” the friend continued. “The King’s capacity to forgive his son is undimmed. There are other members of the royal family who are much more weighted against Harry, that’s the problem.”
One of Harry’s closest friends similarly slammed the Duke of Sussex’s decision to turn on his family.
“I can’t believe he’d stoop so low. It’s outrageously disloyal. Oprah, Netflix and then the book? Three strikes and you’re out,” the friend said.
A former aide to Harry noted that the father of two doesn’t appear to have a “purpose” in life since moving away from the UK and falling out with his family.
“He loved the army and was very good at his job. The work with Invictus is great and fatherhood was the role he most wanted, so perhaps those are enough for him,” the aide explained.
“But everything else is a bit woolly. I always thought he wanted more from life. I can’t help but think he must be wondering, ‘Where do I go from here?’”
Last month, Harry addressed his strained relationship with his family and blamed their unwillingness to fight against the press for their falling out.
“I think that’s certainly a central piece to it,” Harry said in an interview with ITV’s Rebecca Barry.
“But that’s a hard question to answer, because anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press,” he added.
Harry and his wife notably created tension with the royal family during their Oprah interview, during which Markle, 43, claimed the royal family raised “concerns” with Harry over the potential darkness of their son Archie’s skin.
Harry backed up his wife’s claims, telling Oprah: “That conversation I am never going to share, but at the time it was awkward. I was a bit shocked.”
