Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will “definitely” attend King Charles III’s Coronation out of fear of becoming “outsiders”, according to a royal commentator.
Richard Fitzwilliams said the couple have made steps to provide an “olive branch” to the Firm as the royal rift continues to deepen.
The commentator told GB News that Meghan and Harry will need to maintain their status as Royal Family figures to ensure the continued steady flow of big-money contracts, something they risk jeopardising by continuing to alienate themselves from the Firm.
He told Mark Longhurst: “My own bet is that they will definitely attend the Coronation.
Meghan and Harry have been invited to the King's coronation despite their ongoing rift with the royals
PA“They are members of the Royal Family. They have contacts with Netflix, Spotify and Random House because of this.
“If they were not to attend, they would be seen as outsiders. I think that whatever the feelings are individually, that’s not a future they could possibly contemplate.”
Speculation surrounds the plans for King Charles’ coronation, with Meghan and Harry’s possible absence being a key talking point.
A spokesperson for Harry revealed on Sunday that the couple have received an invitation for the event, but are yet to confirm whether they will actually attend.
Preparations have been overshadowed by the couple’s damning revelations about the King, Harry’s elder brother Prince William and other royals in his recent memoir, a Netflix documentary and a series of TV interviews.
"I can confirm The Duke has recently received email correspondence from His Majesty's office regarding the coronation," a spokesperson for Harry said.
"An immediate decision on whether The Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time."
The couple have announced their daughter, Lilibet, has been christened with the ‘Princess’ title, a move Richard Fitzwillams dubbed as “ironic”.
Richard Fitzwilliams says he expects Harry and Meghan to attend the King's coronation
PA / GB News
He told GB News: “It’s a rather complex matter because obviously there’s a deep rift in the Royal Family, as we know.
“The christening no doubt is a very happy event with Lilibet.
“We know that King Charles and the Prince of Wales were asked, according to Omid Scobie.
“This makes clear Archie and Lilibet will have the Prince and Princess titles, if they want to use them.“This is of course somewhat ironic since their parents cannot use the HRH.”
The Palace confirmed the site’s line of succession list will now be updated to reflect the change after a spokesperson for the Sussexes publicly referred to Lili as a princess for the first time on Wednesday when announcing news of her christening.
It is understood the King was aware beforehand that the Sussexes intended to refer to their daughter as Princess Lili and that there had been correspondence about the matter.
Harry and Meghan are understood to be keen to not deny their children their birthright, but to allow them the chance to decide for themselves when they are older whether to drop or keep using the titles.