On 6 May 2023, Britain held its first coronation in seventy years. King Charles III and Queen Camilla were crowned at Westminster Abbey in front of more than two thousand guests, with millions more watching around the world.
There was one question the media kept asking in the weeks before: would Prince Harry come? Only months earlier, his memoir Spare had made painful claims about his father, his brother and his stepmother. Relations with the family were at their lowest point.
In the end, Harry confirmed that he would attend, but alone. Meghan stayed in California with their children, Archie and Lilibet. The coronation fell on Archie’s fourth birthday.
Harry was given no official role in the ceremony. He did not take part in the procession, and he was seated in the third row, behind his aunt, Princess Anne, alongside other members of the extended family. His brother, Prince William, by contrast, knelt before the King to pledge his loyalty.
Cameras searched for any sign of contact between Harry and his family. There was little to see. After the service, members of the working royal family appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to wave to the crowds and watch the flypast. Harry was not among them.
Instead, according to reports, he left soon after the service and flew back to California the same day, in time to be with his son on his birthday. His visit to the UK lasted around a day.
For many viewers, the image of Harry sitting quietly in the third row was one of the most striking of the day. It showed how far he had travelled from the boy who had once walked behind his mother’s coffin with his brother and father.
Some saw his attendance as a positive sign that the door to reconciliation was still open. Others saw his rapid departure as proof of how deep the divide had become.
Either way, the coronation of King Charles III will be remembered not only for its pageantry, but for the son who came alone, sat in row three and was gone before the day was over.