Meghan Markle and Prince Harry WON’T appear on Buckingham Palace balcony if they go to King Charles’ coronation
PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle will not appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony if they decide to go to the King’s coronation.
The couple have left palace chiefs in the dark by refusing to confirm whether they will accept the invitation to the historic event in May.
Officials have written to the California-based pair asking them to attend the ceremony at Westminster Abbey in less than nine weeks.
But Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, said “an immediate decision” on whether they will make the 5,000-mile trip “will not be disclosed”.
It means organisers are forced to wait before they hear back about whether any members of the family-of-four will attend the bash.
If the Sussexes do decide to make the journey, they are not expected to have any formal role in the ceremony where Charles, 74, and Camilla, 75, will be crowned side-by-side.
It means Harry and Meg will not be involved in any family procession or appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony to greet thousands of well-wishers in The Mall.
The couple were relegated to back row royals at St Paul’s Cathedral for the Queen’s Thanksgiving Ceremony last June.
However, Camilla’s grandchildren are set to have a formal role and a position for Prince George, nine, is under consideration.
The palace invite was emailed to Montecito just days after The Sun revealed the King had evicted the Sussexes from Frogmore Cottage – and offered the keys to Prince Andrew.
A deadline to move out of the grace and favour Grade-II listed five-bed home on the Windsor estate has been extended until after the coronation.
If they fly in from Los Angeles for the occasion, and stay there during their visit, it could be the last time they ever step foot inside.
Their staff are expected in coming weeks to spend a few days inside the cottage clearing out the couple’s belongings.
They have to hand the keys back after the coronation and they have not been offered any other permanent accommodation following the eviction in early summer.
The disgraced Duke of York, 63, has been offered Frogmore Cottage in a bid to force him to “downsize” from his 31-room mansion at Windsor.
Andrew, who faces funding cuts by the King in April, is understood to be “resisting” attempts to force him and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson out of Royal Lodge.
Harry and Charles have not spoken since the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September, it is understood.
Eight weeks ago Harry refused to reveal whether or not he wanted to attend the coronation.
‘DOOR IS OPEN’
Speaking to telly pal Tom Bradby in a promotional interview for his memoir Spare eight weeks ago, Harry claimed: “There’s a lot that can happen between now and then.
“But you know, the door is always open. The ball is in their court.
“There is a lot to be discussed and I really hope that they are willing to sit down and talk about it.”
And a spokesman for the Sussexes said yesterday: “I can confirm The Duke has recently received email correspondence from His Majesty’s office regarding the coronation.
“An immediate decision on whether The Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time.”
The coronation is taking place on May 6, which is also their son Archie‘s fourth birthday.
But that is not thought to be an obstacle as the Sussexes hosted a first birthday party for Lilibet at Frogmore Cottage during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee last June.
Instead, controversy over their attendance surrounds claims made by Harry in his best-selling memoir Spare, released in January, and the subsequent TV interviews he gave.
On Saturday, the duke blasted his father, saying he grew up in a “broken home”, describing his “incredibly painful” childhood, and claiming that he took his family to the USA to break the “cycle of pain” in a £17-a-ticket livestream interview.
He has previously stunned the Royal Family by airing private conversations and making damning accusations in other public interviews, statements and his memoir.
An immediate decision on whether The Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time.
Sussexes spokesperson
In his book, Harry described the moment his brother William attacked him, knocking him to the ground in a row over Meghan and breaking a dog’s bowl during the kitchen dust-up.
Harry’s tell-all book also accused Camilla of leaking stories about him and William to gain favourable press and claimed that he and William once pleaded with Charles not to marry her.
Royals were also shocked by Harry describing William as his ‘arch nemesis’ who had ‘alarming baldness’ and revealing his history of drug taking including cocaine and hallucinogenic drugs.
Harry’s book sparked global outrage and criticism from military chiefs after he revealed his Taliban kill-list, writing that he was responsible for the deaths of “25 enemy combatants”.
He also repeated private text messages sent from Kate to Meg and described how his sister-in-law was furious over comments his wife made about her hormones.
Revealing private conversations he had with Charles and William during a walk in gardens of Frogmore Cottage, hours after the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh, he wrote that his father pleaded: “Please boys, don’t make my final years a misery.”
William and Charles are not believed to have spoken to Harry since the Queen’s funeral in September.
Just 24 hours after the book was published, the palace wrote to Harry and Meghan, ordering them out of Frogmore Cottage and ending their lease early.
They have not been offered any alternative accommodation.
It is believed rooms at Buckingham Palace or St James’s Palace would be open for the Sussexes to stay in if they return to the UK after they lose their cottage.
Buckingham Palace refused to comment last night.
The palace would not say if the Sussexes had privately confirmed their attendance for the coronation.