Archbishop asked to broker deal for Harry to attend Coronation

THE KING has reportedly asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to broker a deal to allow Prince Harry to attend his Coronation.

Charles is said to hope Justin Welby can help strike an agreement that would allow the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to attend the coronation at Westminster Abbey in May.

The Archbishop officiated Harry and Meghan’s wedding and royal sources told The Daily Telegraph that he was “very close” to the couple and spoke to them regularly by phone. He is also understood to be “very supportive of their plight”.

Amid the fallout over the revelations and accusations made in their Netflix documentary series and in Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, it is unclear whether the Sussexes will attend the Coronation.

Charles is said to believe that the couple’s absence would be a bigger distraction than if they attend and is prepared to make some concessions to allow them to be there.

However, Prince William is believed to be worried that his brother could cause a “stunt” that could overshadow the crowning ceremony and wants any visit by Harry to be highly scripted.

Sources told Mail on Sunday that Harry could be given a high-profile seating position in the Abbey or an informal assurance that he could keep his titles if he decided to attend.

One source told the newspaper: “The issue of substance is whether they attend the Coronation, and if they do, under what terms and conditions.

“The family is split, and all the indications are that Harry is being advised to agree to nothing at this stage and ‘play it long’ right up to the last minute, which is making negotiations with him very difficult. Harry’s camp made clear that the idea that he would just attend the Coronation and behave himself but then be stripped of his titles was a total nonstarter. While he might decide at some point to discard his titles of his own volition, he objects to the idea of being forcibly stripped of them. He resents being lumped together with Andrew in the public mind as the two ‘problem Princes’, when he considers the circumstances to be totally different.”

Lambeth Palace and Buckingham Palace did not comment but the Archbishop, who will officiate at the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, was first asked to act as an intermediary between William and Harry shortly after the Queen’s death in September.

A survey last week found that 60 per cent of the public think Harry should be invited to the Coronation.