The likelihood of Kate Middleton, Prince William, and Prince Harry having much interaction at all at King Charles’ coronation has gone way down, as seating has now been revealed for the Westminster Abbey service. Harry is seated in the third row, far behind the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis’ front row seating. Prince George, of course, is serving as a Page of Honour in the service, so he has a more active role.
Harry does have friendly faces next to him though, as he’s seated in the same row as his cousin Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice. Eugenie and Harry are particularly close.
Royal reporters Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand wrote in Sussex biography Finding Freedom about Harry’s close relationship with Eugenie. “Eugenie had always been more than just a cousin to Harry,” they shared. “They were also the closest of friends. Out of all the Queen’s grand-children, Harry and Eugenie have one of the most natural connections. Like Harry, Eugenie is loyal, honest, and great fun. The two had many nights out together in London.”
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Harry wore a morning suit for the service, while the Wales family was in more traditional attire. Charlotte and Kate wore matching flower crowns.
The distance between Harry and William is likely due in part to their strained relationship and the royal family’s wanting to minimize drama.
Royal reporter Omid Scobie discussed the fact Harry has no control over his seating on ITV’s This Morning on Wednesday. He also revealed how Harry’s relationships with his father and brother greatly differ.
“Obviously, this is the first time he sees his family face-to-face since the release of Spare [Harry’s memoir], but I don’t think people know that there has been somewhat regular […] conversation between him and his father since the release of that book,” Scobie said. “Now, have they discussed the details and the points that he wanted to go into? From what I hear, no. But he has had contact with his dad and, of course, there have been some negative moments with the loss of Frogmore Cottage. They lose the keys to that any week now at this point, and of course he would’ve spoken to his father about that, but also discussed his attendance at the coronation with his dad and made it clear that he wanted to be part of it, and I think that was really well received as well. So it’s interesting to now compare that to where William and Harry are, which is still in the exact same place that we last saw them. There has been minimal contact since the Queen’s funeral.”
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
