King Charles III has just announced the role that Prince William will be playing at the coronation service on May 6th—and it looks like Prince Harry has been, in a word, “snubbed.”
While the Prince of Wales will have a speaking role in the official Coronation Service, no other members of the royal family will have a vocal ceremonial part to play during the crowning, including Charles’ younger son, the Duke of Sussex.
William Will 'Pledge Loyalty' To Charles During Coronation Service
According to the Liturgy of the Coronation Service, Prince William will be performing "The Homage of Royal Blood," during which he will lead the "words of fealty" to the newly-crowned King.
The Homage reads as follows: "I, William, Prince of Wales, pledge my loyalty to you and faith and truth I will bear unto you, as your liege man of life and limb. So help me God." During this pledge. William will kneel in front of his father and place his hands between the King's.
The 40-year-old Prince of Wales is the only member of the royal family who is participating vocally in the ceremony, and will also be assisting in the placing of the coronation robe on Charles. Queen Camilla will also be officially crowned along with her husband.
Prince George, son of William and Kate and third in line to the throne, will not have a speaking role during the coronation but was named as one of Charles' Pages of Honour, making him the youngest future king to partake in a coronation ceremony.
However, along with the Princess of Wales and William's other children, Charlotte and Louis, Prince Harry himself will also be relegated to the audience, and does not have a special role in the festivities, according to the Liturgy.
Fans React: 'He's Lucky He Got An Invite'
Though some on social media felt that Harry's lack of inclusion in the ceremony was an obvious snub, others have much less sympathy for the royal, who has been in a tense relationship with his family ever since officially leaving royal duties with wife Meghan in January of 2020.
"He's lucky he got an invite," commented one responder on a Twitter thread about the alleged snub. "This scenario is getting ridiculous...Stunts like this are only making things worse & fodder for another book," added another.
Some reasoned that Harry wasn't likely to have had a specific role to play anyway. "Harry's not being 'snubbed'. He is not the Prince of Wales, who has a role to play in the liturgy of the Coronation. To say that Harry is being 'snubbed' is like saying that Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are being snubbed because they are not pages like Prince George is," noted a Twitter user. Another commenter agreed with this assessment: "It doesn’t sound like Harry’s been snubbed so much as he doesn’t have an official role. He’s not the Prince of Wales, William is, so it is what it is. It’s not necessarily an intentional snub. Though after that book of his, he’d likely deserve a snub."
Some responders, however, had sympathy for the Prince and the family's difficult interpersonal situation:
This whole situation is sad. I feel for them all having to go thru this in the public eye.
— Kris Rabideau (@KrisRabs) May 2, 2023
It was previously reported that the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, will be staying home in California to celebrate Prince Archie's 4th birthday, which happens to coincide with the ceremony date.
According to Buckingham Palace, more than 2,000 guests will be in attendance at King Charles III's coronation, including approximately 100 Heads of State. President Joe Biden will not be making the trip to the ceremony; however, First Lady Jill Biden will be in attendance to represent the United States.
