Prince Harry.Photo: Andy Stenning - WPA Pool/Getty ImagesAfter great speculation,Prince HarrysupportedKing Charleson coronation day.Though the Duke of Sussex, 38, kept a low profile at London’sWestminster Abbeyduring the crowning ceremony Saturday, one fellow guest says what matters is that he was present.“I am delighted thatPrince Harrywas there,” says Colleen Harris, a former press secretary to the King and his sons, in this week’sPEOPLE cover story. “He would have personally regretted it if he wasn’t there to support his father. Speaking as a mother, [I believe] it was the right thing . . . and the King [was] delighted.“The Duke of Sussex sat in the third row during the service, which saw his brotherPrince William— as the Prince of Wales and heir to the throne —kneel before their father, kiss his cheek and swear allegiance. Meanwhile, Prince Harry watched from his spot behind working royals and near his cousins andPrince Andrew, who was relieved of his duties following allegations of sexual misconduct.Yui Mok - WPA Pool/GettyAlthough the Duke of Sussex smiled and chatted as he walked into Westminster Abbey with his cousins Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice along with their husbands, he wasnever seen interactingwith his brother or father. He headed to the airport shortly after the coronation, returning home to California to rejoin wifeMeghan Markle, daughterPrincess Lilibet, 23 months, and sonPrince Archie, who turned 4 the same day — and wasn’t invited to join the family during the Buckingham Palace balcony appearance that followed the service.Buckingham Palaceannounced in AprilthatPrince Harrywould attend his father’s crowning ceremony while Meghan, 41, stayed in California with their two children.A source close to the royal householdtold PEOPLEahead of the coronation of Harry’s decision to attend the historic event, “He will look back on it and think it is better to come and play his part and say, ‘I saw my father crowned.’ And tell his children about it.“Andrew Matthews - WPA Pool/GettyCan’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates onKate Middleton,Meghan Markleand more!Given the long road to the throne and family strain aroundSpare,Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir released in January, few would have faulted King Charles, 74, for relishing his long-awaited (and literal)crowning moment. But the King set a tone of somber responsibility with his first ceremonial words: “I come here to serve, not to be served.“With the ceremony successfully behind him, the monarch can once again turn his focus to setting the course of his reign and bringing unity to the U.K. at a time when anti-crown sentiment is on the rise. (A recent poll found that only 58 percent of Britons want to keep the monarchy, anddozens of protesterswere arrested on the day of the ceremony.) Those who know him, however, say he’s uniquely suited for the challenge.“He’s known his country, and indeed the world, better than any previous monarch, because he’s traveled . . . far and wide,” Paddy Harverson, Charles’s former communications secretary, tells PEOPLE. “He has built up a huge amount of knowledge, experience, wisdom and connections, and he will bring all of that to the job.“The long wait, now over, has better prepared him, agrees King Charles' biographer Sally Bedell Smith.“If he’d come to the throne 20 years ago, maybe he would have been more impatient or . . . felt more hindered than he does now,” she says. “Now, because he has such an extraordinary legacy, [he can focus on] binding people together . . . and finding common ground.”
Prince Harry.Photo: Andy Stenning - WPA Pool/Getty Images
After great speculation,Prince HarrysupportedKing Charleson coronation day.Though the Duke of Sussex, 38, kept a low profile at London’sWestminster Abbeyduring the crowning ceremony Saturday, one fellow guest says what matters is that he was present.“I am delighted thatPrince Harrywas there,” says Colleen Harris, a former press secretary to the King and his sons, in this week’sPEOPLE cover story. “He would have personally regretted it if he wasn’t there to support his father. Speaking as a mother, [I believe] it was the right thing . . . and the King [was] delighted.“The Duke of Sussex sat in the third row during the service, which saw his brotherPrince William— as the Prince of Wales and heir to the throne —kneel before their father, kiss his cheek and swear allegiance. Meanwhile, Prince Harry watched from his spot behind working royals and near his cousins andPrince Andrew, who was relieved of his duties following allegations of sexual misconduct.Yui Mok - WPA Pool/GettyAlthough the Duke of Sussex smiled and chatted as he walked into Westminster Abbey with his cousins Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice along with their husbands, he wasnever seen interactingwith his brother or father. He headed to the airport shortly after the coronation, returning home to California to rejoin wifeMeghan Markle, daughterPrincess Lilibet, 23 months, and sonPrince Archie, who turned 4 the same day — and wasn’t invited to join the family during the Buckingham Palace balcony appearance that followed the service.Buckingham Palaceannounced in AprilthatPrince Harrywould attend his father’s crowning ceremony while Meghan, 41, stayed in California with their two children.A source close to the royal householdtold PEOPLEahead of the coronation of Harry’s decision to attend the historic event, “He will look back on it and think it is better to come and play his part and say, ‘I saw my father crowned.’ And tell his children about it.“Andrew Matthews - WPA Pool/GettyCan’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates onKate Middleton,Meghan Markleand more!Given the long road to the throne and family strain aroundSpare,Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir released in January, few would have faulted King Charles, 74, for relishing his long-awaited (and literal)crowning moment. But the King set a tone of somber responsibility with his first ceremonial words: “I come here to serve, not to be served.“With the ceremony successfully behind him, the monarch can once again turn his focus to setting the course of his reign and bringing unity to the U.K. at a time when anti-crown sentiment is on the rise. (A recent poll found that only 58 percent of Britons want to keep the monarchy, anddozens of protesterswere arrested on the day of the ceremony.) Those who know him, however, say he’s uniquely suited for the challenge.“He’s known his country, and indeed the world, better than any previous monarch, because he’s traveled . . . far and wide,” Paddy Harverson, Charles’s former communications secretary, tells PEOPLE. “He has built up a huge amount of knowledge, experience, wisdom and connections, and he will bring all of that to the job.“The long wait, now over, has better prepared him, agrees King Charles' biographer Sally Bedell Smith.“If he’d come to the throne 20 years ago, maybe he would have been more impatient or . . . felt more hindered than he does now,” she says. “Now, because he has such an extraordinary legacy, [he can focus on] binding people together . . . and finding common ground.”
After great speculation,Prince HarrysupportedKing Charleson coronation day.
Though the Duke of Sussex, 38, kept a low profile at London’sWestminster Abbeyduring the crowning ceremony Saturday, one fellow guest says what matters is that he was present.
“I am delighted thatPrince Harrywas there,” says Colleen Harris, a former press secretary to the King and his sons, in this week’sPEOPLE cover story. “He would have personally regretted it if he wasn’t there to support his father. Speaking as a mother, [I believe] it was the right thing . . . and the King [was] delighted.”
The Duke of Sussex sat in the third row during the service, which saw his brotherPrince William— as the Prince of Wales and heir to the throne —kneel before their father, kiss his cheek and swear allegiance. Meanwhile, Prince Harry watched from his spot behind working royals and near his cousins andPrince Andrew, who was relieved of his duties following allegations of sexual misconduct.
Yui Mok - WPA Pool/Getty
Although the Duke of Sussex smiled and chatted as he walked into Westminster Abbey with his cousins Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice along with their husbands, he wasnever seen interactingwith his brother or father. He headed to the airport shortly after the coronation, returning home to California to rejoin wifeMeghan Markle, daughterPrincess Lilibet, 23 months, and sonPrince Archie, who turned 4 the same day — and wasn’t invited to join the family during the Buckingham Palace balcony appearance that followed the service.
Buckingham Palaceannounced in AprilthatPrince Harrywould attend his father’s crowning ceremony while Meghan, 41, stayed in California with their two children.
A source close to the royal householdtold PEOPLEahead of the coronation of Harry’s decision to attend the historic event, “He will look back on it and think it is better to come and play his part and say, ‘I saw my father crowned.’ And tell his children about it.”
Andrew Matthews - WPA Pool/Getty
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates onKate Middleton,Meghan Markleand more!
Given the long road to the throne and family strain aroundSpare,Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir released in January, few would have faulted King Charles, 74, for relishing his long-awaited (and literal)crowning moment. But the King set a tone of somber responsibility with his first ceremonial words: “I come here to serve, not to be served.”
With the ceremony successfully behind him, the monarch can once again turn his focus to setting the course of his reign and bringing unity to the U.K. at a time when anti-crown sentiment is on the rise. (A recent poll found that only 58 percent of Britons want to keep the monarchy, anddozens of protesterswere arrested on the day of the ceremony.) Those who know him, however, say he’s uniquely suited for the challenge.
“He’s known his country, and indeed the world, better than any previous monarch, because he’s traveled . . . far and wide,” Paddy Harverson, Charles’s former communications secretary, tells PEOPLE. “He has built up a huge amount of knowledge, experience, wisdom and connections, and he will bring all of that to the job.”
The long wait, now over, has better prepared him, agrees King Charles' biographer Sally Bedell Smith.
“If he’d come to the throne 20 years ago, maybe he would have been more impatient or . . . felt more hindered than he does now,” she says. “Now, because he has such an extraordinary legacy, [he can focus on] binding people together . . . and finding common ground.”
source: people.com
