Prince Harry relegated to THIRD row at father’s coronation ceremony alongside Andrew’s kids amid bitter Megxit fallout
PRINCE Harry has been relegated to the third row with his cousins at today’s Coronation ceremony.
The Duke of Sussex, 38, flew in yesterday leaving wife Meghan at home in California.
He will sit between Princess Eugenie’s husband Jack Brooksbank and Princess Alexandra — Queen Elizabeth’s cousin whose last royal working engagement was ten years ago.
Alongside will be Prince Andrew’s daughters Eugenie, 33, and sister Beatrice, 34, with hubby Edo Mapelli Mozzi.
The front row is reserved for senior working royals — William and Kate, Edward and Sophie and their children Lady Louise and James, Earl of Wessex, plus Princess Anne and her husband Tim Laurence.
An insider told The Sun: “There were discussions that the seating could be arranged on line of succession.
But that would have put fifth-in-line Harry front and centre — and with William and Kate.
“Instead the decision was working royals only at the front and work back from there. Harry will be a long way from his father.”
The Duke will arrive with other non-working royals at 10.35am.
He is set to leave soon after the ceremony and fly home for son Archie’s fourth birthday.
Yesterday Kate joked how she and William are “like swans” as they joined King Charles on a surprise walkabout.
As they met fans gathered near Buckingham Palace, the Princess of Wales said: “Yeah, we’re all good. Hopefully a bit like swans — relatively calm on the outside, but paddling on the inside.”
Cheery Kate, 41, said of her children George, nine, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five: “They are really well, thank you. Excited, a bit nervous obviously with the big day ahead. They can’t wait.”
Asked how 74-year-old Charles was coping, she said: “Looking forward to it as well.”
She added: “It’s nice to be out here and saying hello to everyone who has obviously stayed out here for so long. And obviously will be staying out here overnight.
“It’s going to be long. Are you tired? It is long hours for everybody, isn’t it? It’s a really great moment. A celebration as well. We have an early start but I think everyone has.”
Charles, Kate and William, 40, shook hands with patriotic fans and chatted along The Mall.
After a heavy downpour gave way to afternoon sunshine, well-wishers took selfies, sang God Save the King, and led raucous rounds of Hip Hip Hooray!
After stepping out of his maroon Bentley, surrounded by security chiefs, Charles simply smiled when someone asked if he was nervous.
He joked with fans about the dodgy weather and giggled when a cheeky well-wisher shouted: “Love you Charlie!” Another fan shouted: “Love you, I’m from Italy.”
Another simply said: “Good luck for tomorrow!” Margaret Tinsley, 81, of Gillingham, Dorset, welled up after shaking hands with the King.
She told him: “We are so proud of you, Sir.”
Law student Abigail Summers, 21, from Cambridge, with pal Millie Holtz, said: “We said congratulations to him and he said, ‘Are you here tomorrow? Did you camp overnight?’
“He said, ‘I hope you didn’t get too wet when it rained!’ Then he was just laughing. It was amazing, really surreal.”
Millie, 21, added: “It was exciting and quite overwhelming. It’s funny seeing someone in real life that you’ve only ever seen on TV. He was really friendly and made a lot of eye contact which was nice.”
Alison Cowburn, 62, from Derby, shook Charles’s hand and told him she was visiting for the day, to which he laughed, ‘Nothing so rash as that then!’
Lovel Vining, 69, from Toronto, said: “He saw my hat bearing the Canadian flag and said he liked that part of the world. It was a real thrill to shake his hand.
“He has difficult shoes to fill. But he’s been preparing for this for a lifetime, so I think he will do a brilliant job. This is a bucket-list item for me.”
Justin Nakrin, 31, from New York, was with mum Rosaria. Justin said: “It’s the experience of a lifetime.”
Rosaria added: “I told him we were from the States. I said I’m 72 and he said ‘That’s incredible’.”
Theresa Iredale, 66, wore a paper crown and poncho as she spoke to super-chilled Charles.
She told The Sun: “He said, ‘Thank you for coming’ and he appreciated it and I did say it was my birthday and he said ‘Oh, congratulations’. I saw his hand coming out to mine and I was like, I can’t believe I’m shaking the King’s hand. A special moment.”
Asked if her jaunty crown had drawn Charles’s attention, she said: “I think, actually, I was screaming a bit to be honest.”
Kate appeared to join a fan on a video call, and spoke on another’s phone before handing it back.
Meanwhile Wills prayed for good weather and posed with flag- wavers in the ten-deep crowds.
Security teams had kept the 40-minute walkabout under wraps. They meticulously shadowed the royal trio as they edged along the flabbergasted well-wishers.
Carole, from Minnesota, US, sobbed: “This was the best day of my life. I can’t believe it.
“It’s wonderful to see people coming back together from different cultures and parts of the world. This is so amazing.
“This was for me the reality of a long history. The Queen has passed it on to her son. And he will be a good king.”
Suzie, also from the US, told William and Kate it was the best day of her life. She added: “When Diana passed I was so upset I never got the chance to meet her.
“I always said there was no way in the world I would not meet William one day. People laughed at me. But today is that day.”
Outside the Palace, Jane, holding a red, white and blue brolly, said ‘Good luck’ to Charles.
She said: “He has done a wonderful job with The Prince’s Trust and climate change.
“But this is what he has been training for his whole life. King Charles III is going to be fantastic.”
