King Charles’ upcoming coronation could be an opportunity for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to employ some palace diplomacy, says a royal expert.
Robert Hardman, author of “Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II,” suggests that the former royals be “respectful.”
“This is not our show, it’s his show, we are here because that’s the sort of respect for a beautiful thing to do,” he tells Page Six. “Private family issues aside … that’s for another day.”
The Duke of Sussex, 38, confirmed last week that the couple received an invitation to attend his father’s May coronation, but has not confirmed if they will be attending.
The potential olive branch comes on the heels of Prince Harry’s explosive memoir, “Spare,” in which he accused his father of branding him a “spare” when he was born, not hugging him after delivering the news that Princess Diana had died and constantly joking that he wasn’t Harry’s biological father.
Most recently, it was revealed that Charles, 73, evicted his son and daughter-in-law from their UK abode, Frogmore Cottage, just one day after “Spare” hit the bookshelves.
But Hardman notes that the coronation is “a family event as well as a state event and you would expect all the family to be at a family event.”
“Don’t forget, we kind of went through this last year with the Queen’s (Platinum) Jubilee,” he says, adding that the Archewell founders were “quite low-key.”
“They didn’t seek to upstage the main event, they didn’t give any interviews, they didn’t have a Netflix crew following them up the aisle [at St. Paul’s Cathedral]. I think if they’re sensible, that’s how they’ll play it this time.”
Hardman is less optimistic about a potential reconciliation between Prince Harry and his brother, Prince William.
In his memoir, Harry spelled out a laundry list of grievances against his older sibling.
More must-see royals coverage:
The renegade royal claimed that William had pushed him down during a physical altercation, was less than welcoming to wife Markle and encouraged him to wear that infamous Nazi costume for a fancy dress party.
The Invictus Games founder has been outspoken about wanting an apology, but not expecting one.
Hardman tells us that an apology would have to be a “give on either side.”
“I mean, there always is in any of these things and every family, you know, both sides have to sort of swallow a bit of pride,” he says. “I’m not sure we’re at that stage yet. But, you know, if Harry just keeps saying, I’m not going to do anything until I receive an apology, Well, I think that could be a long way.”