Understand why Meghan Markle will not be at the coronation of King Charles III

The coronation ceremony of King Charles III, scheduled for Saturday (6), is a rare case of an event where those who are left out can attract more attention than those who attend. At the top of the list of felt absences must be Meghan Markle, wife of Prince Harry and, therefore, daughter-in-law of the monarch.

The non-attendance of the former actress was confirmed by Buckingham Palace in April. While Harry will follow the historic and extremely important moment for his father in person, Meghan will remain with her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, in the United States, where they live.

Officially, there have been no explanations as to the reason for Meghan’s absence, however – as is usually the case with everything involving the British royal family – the fact has generated several speculations. Sites such as People magazine and the column PageSix, from the New York Post, state that she would have preferred to stay in the United States to celebrate Archie’s 4th birthday, also celebrated on 6/5.

Before the confirmation, there were doubts even if Harry would attend. That’s because the youngest son’s relationship with King Charles would not be in the best of times (understand below). However, in March the couple announced that the prince was contacted by email to discuss his presence at the coronation.

Officially, Harry and Meghan have not been active members of the monarchy since February 2021, when Buckingham Palace confirmed that the couple were stepping down from their official duties. The confirmation came more than a year after they revealed on social media their plan to leave royalty with the intention of working towards achieving their own financial independence.

Despite this, Harry remains a prince, and the couple have retained the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex. However, they are no longer addressed as His Royal Highness (HRH in English). Harry also renounced his official military titles and, as a result, did not wear a uniform to the funeral of his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

In addition, Archie and Lilibet are sixth and seventh in line to the British throne, respectively – just behind their father, who appears in fifth position on the list. The first places are occupied by Harry’s brother, Prince William, followed by his three children with Kate Middleton: George, Charlotte and Louis.

CONTROVERSIES

Harry and Meghan’s relationship with the royal family took another hit earlier this year when the prince published a memoir. In “Spare” (“O Que Sobra”, in the Portuguese version), he reports a fight with his brother and directs most of his fury against the queen consort Camilla, his father’s wife. In the work, he accuses her of courting the tabloids to improve her public image.

The publication added to a series of statements that did not sit well with Buckingham Palace. Last year, in the Netflix documentary “Harry & Meghan”, both gave testimonials in which they criticized members of the royals, in addition to the way in which Meghan would have been received by the royal family.

These statements add to those given by the couple in March 2021 in an interview with presenter Oprah Winfrey, in which they reported “several conversations” within the royal family about how dark the skin of Archie’s first child would be, as Meghan considers herself biracial.

Punishment or not, the two have been increasingly excluded from the family circle – Harry has participated alone in essential events, such as the funeral of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, at the end of last year. In March of this year, Meghan and Harry were “requested to vacate” Frogmore Cottage, a 10-bedroom property that was their official UK residence.