The real reason Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may shun King Charles and Camilla's coronation

© Future: Getty / Canva null

There is a unique reason why the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may not be able to attend King Charles and Queen consort Camilla's coronation in 2023.

• Following the death of the Queen in September, King Charles is the new monarch.
• In May 2023, a coronation has been arranged to mark the King's ascension to the throne.
• In other royal news, Royal Family raised eyebrows at Harry and Meghan's 'rather presumptuous' and 'bewildering' decision to name their daughter Lilibet.

Buckingham Palace confirmed in October that King Charles' coronation has been will take place on Saturday, May 6, 2023. The ceremony is set to be a grand televised affair at Westminster Abbey, with an extra bank holiday granted for the coronation day so that royal fans can enjoy the festivities. The Queen Consort Camilla will also be crowned on the day in a smaller ceremony and become the King's official consort.

While this is expected to be an exciting day for the royals and a momentous day in the history books, there are some members of the extended Royal Family who are not expected to join in the festivities. King Charles' youngest son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle may not be able to join the celebrations for one very key reason.

King Charles’ coronation day will be especially significant for grandson Archie as his fourth birthday is the same day as the coronation. But this clash could mean that parents decide to celebrate privately with their son and not attend the coronation celebrations. 

Previously in June 2022, the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations clashed with their daughter Lilibet's first birthday. The royal couple made the decision to avoid BBC’s Platinum Party at the Palace on the third night of the Jubilee celebrations and instead celebrated privately at home.

Therefore, the royal couple may decide to upkeep this tradition of prioritizing their children's birthdays over royal milestones. Meaning they will place importance on Archie's fourth birthday and celebrate this milestone rather than the King's coronation.

However, there are also alternative suggestions that Prince Harry and Meghan do have plans to attend the King's coronation, and are hoping that the tension caused by their upcoming memoir and docuseries will have dissipated by May 2023.

On the latest episode of Royally Us, host and royal expert, Christine Ross, said that she believes the timing of the release of the docuseries and the memoir in December and January, was deliberate.

Christine said, "I think that the documentary and the book come out within weeks of each other. Maybe they are hoping that between January 10 and, you know, May,[that] they have enough time to cool any tensions that might arise."

So perhaps if the tension dissipates during the five months between the release of their final project and the coronation, the royal couple will be in attendance. But nothing has been confirmed just yet by the Royal Family about which royals will be attending the ceremony and service.