Despite the ongoing rift between Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and the royal family, one royal expert strongly believes that the couple will still be welcomed at King Charles III’s coronation.
“I feel that they’ll definitely be invited, but I think that the dynamic is changing,” Richard Fitzwilliams exclusively told Us Weekly of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
In recent months, the Archewell cofounders released their Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, and the former military pilot, 38, published his tell-all memoir, Spare.
Both projects featured the twosome’s personal experiences as members of the royal family and detailed the reason behind their 2020 exit as they stepped down from their working roles with The Firm. Harry, for his part, wrote about his ups and downs with members of his family, including father Charles, 74, brother Prince William and more.
“The royals have put up with a tremendous amount of problems, so far as they’re concerned,” Fitzwilliams said to Us. “Since the beginning of December to the publication of Spare and all those interviews, and now the interview coming up, it’s been a damaging and difficult time for them.”
While promoting his book, the Invictus Games founder revealed during a January interview with 60 Minutes that he wasn’t in touch with his father or brother but he was open to reconciling with them.
“Meghan and I have continued to say that we will openly apologize for anything that we did wrong, but every time we ask that question, no one’s telling us the specifics or anything,” Harry explained. “There needs to be a constructive conversation, one that can happen in private that doesn’t get leaked. This all started with them briefing daily against my wife with lies to the point of where my wife and I had to run away from my country.”
According to Fitzwilliams, William, 40, “feels very strongly” about Harry attending their father’s upcoming coronation — despite the brothers still being estranged.
“Charles is a symbol of national unity, of course, as the monarch, and the invitation comes from him,” he told Us. “So far as William is concerned, I mean, it’s a terribly deep rift and I don’t see it being mended.”
While the Spare author claimed he and his wife are open to reconciliation, the family feud made headlines once again when Charles had Harry and the Suits alum, 41, “vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage” on Wednesday, March 1. Charles reportedly claimed the U.K. residence was needed for Prince Andrew. Frogmore was Harry and Meghan’s primary residence before they relocated to California.
The duo, along with their kids Archie, 3, and Lili, 20 months, often stayed at the property during their trips to the U.K. after they made their official exit. They even celebrated their daughter’s first birthday at the cottage and held a party in the backyard for the little one.
The last time Harry and Meghan were in the U.K. was for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022. Charles, for his part, assumed his role as the monarch when his mother died at the age of 96, but his official ceremony is scheduled for May 6, 2023 — which is also Archie’s 4th birthday.
