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Meghan Markle will skip King Charles III's coronation next month while her husband Prince Harry attends the historic ceremony alone, Buckingham Palace announced.
Charles is due to be crowned alongside Queen Camilla in a religious ceremony in London's Westminster Abbey on May 6.
Speculation over the couple's attendance has circulated in the British press after a prolonged period of strained relations between the California-based Sussex family and King Charles and Prince William in Britain, heightened after the release of Harry and Meghan's Netflix docuseries in December 2022, and the prince's memoir in January.
A statement released on behalf of King Charles on Wednesday read: "Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that The Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on May 6th. The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet."
Coronation day itself marks an important milestone for Harry and Meghan, as May 6 is also their son, Prince Archie's, birthday. He will turn four years old on the day his grandfather is crowned king.
The news comes as Harry and Meghan's popularity in Britain sank to its lowest level on record, according to YouGov. Harry's net approval rating in his home country currently sits at -22, while Meghan's was recorded at -27 in first-quarter polling for 2023.
The coronation will be marked with a weekend of celebrations, including the ceremony on May 6, and a special concert at Windsor Castle on May 7. Last year, the British government announced that May 8 would be designated a national holiday for communities to mark the royal event, the first of its kind since Queen Elizabeth II's in 1953.
It is not yet known whether Harry will participate in the wider coronation celebrations while in the United Kingdom for the ceremony. The announcement from Buckingham Palace only confirms his attendance for the service itself.
The event will be the first Harry publicly attends with his family members since the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022. The prince and Meghan were in the U.K. attending charity events when the queen died and attended her state funeral.
Harry has not been seen publicly with his brother, William, or father, Charles, since the publication of his memoir Spare, in which he made a number of claims against his family and the royal institution.
Despite a number of high-profile allegations, Buckingham Palace adopted a blanket "no comment" position on the memoir, which helped it become the fastest-selling non-fiction book of all time.
In an interview with Britain's ITV network promoting the book, Harry was asked if he would attend his father's coronation, given the apparent rift that exists between them (the prince also confirmed that he and Charles were not currently speaking).
He responded: "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's a lot to be discussed and I really hope that they can—that they are willing to sit down and talk about it."
Wednesday's statement from Buckingham Palace was significant for a reason apart from confirming Harry's coronation attendance. It is also the first time that the royal's children have officially been referred to as Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in official communications from the institution.
Archie and Lilibet were entitled to their new roles upon the accession of their grandfather. However, the titles were not publicly known until last month when Harry and Meghan announced that Princess Lilibet had been christened.
Buckingham Palace then updated its website to reflect this.
Newsweek reached out to representatives of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle via email for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more