Coronation: Prince Harry shares a joke with Archbishop of Canterbury

Prince Harry shared a joke with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as he walked into Westminster Abbey yesterday for the coronation of his father, King Charles III.

Expert lip reader Jacqui Press told MailOnline today she believes Harry said “good luck” as he walked past the archbishop, who then replied, “Thank you.”

Their light-hearted exchange came after Charles reportedly asked Mr Welby to make a deal to allow Harry to attend – but was met with resistance from Prince William.

Mr Welby has emerged as a key figure in easing tensions between the Sussexes and the Royal Family, having served as a trusted confidant to both sides.

However, there are also claims that Mr Welby was upset after Meghan told Oprah Winfrey in 2021 that he had secretly married them in their ‘back yard’ a few days before the wedding – something that was not true and would be illegal been.

Yesterday, Harry’s appearance at the coronation was his first public appearance away from the royals since he denounced his family in his controversial memoir Spare.

Harry also chatted to Jack Brooksbank and his wife Princess Eugenie – to whom he is very close, unlike many other members of the royal family – as they entered.

Harry could be seen saying “great, look, the bump” and using his hands to point at Eugenie’s baby bump. Mr Brooksbank then said ‘I know’ as he walked off.

He sat in the third row in the Abbey for the coronation of Charles and the Duke’s stepmother, the Queen, and was placed two rows behind his brother William.

Harry chatted with his cousin Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi as he entered the church in the drizzling London rain yesterday.

He then walked past the Archbishop and shared a few words with him, before nodding and smiling at other guests as he followed Beatrice and Edoardo and walked alone through the nave of the abbey.

It is clear that Harry wore what he was asked to wear, which consisted of a dark morning suit and tie, his Afghanistan and Jubilee medals pinned to his suit jacket, and a Royal Victorian Order star and neck decoration.

During the service, as the congregation paid homage to the king, Harry, along with the other members of the royal family around him, were seen uttering the words: ‘God save King Charles. Long live King Charles. May the king live forever.’

But he returned to California after catching a British Airways flight from London Heathrow Airport within hours of the coronation ending.

His abrupt return to the US meant he did not appear on Buckingham Palace’s balcony for the day’s final, with Buckingham Palace previously confirming he had no formal role in the event.

Harry arrived at Los Angeles International Airport around 6:30 p.m. local time to reunite with his son on his birthday.

Archie turned four yesterday and spent the day with his mother, the Duchess of Sussex, at their home in the US.

British Airways flight attendants confirmed that Harry was on the flight, but said they were not allowed to discuss the details of his journey.

It follows reports in The Mail On Sunday on January 29 that senior sources close to Lambeth Palace quoted Charles as wanting Mr Welby to negotiate an agreement with his feuding sons that would allow Harry and Meghan to attend the ceremony in May.

There had been much speculation over whether the Sussexes would attend the high-profile event since they stepped down from royal duties – and especially since the publication of Harry’s tell-all memoir, Spare, which featured a series of wounding attacks on senior members of the royal family. Family.

The king is said to have believed the couple’s absence would be a greater distraction than their presence, so he was willing to make concessions to persuade them to attend.

But William would have been concerned that his brother would use the event to stage a “stunt” that would overshadow the event.

On April 12, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Harry would attend the coronation, but that Meghan would remain in California with the couple’s children, Archie and Lilibet.

Sources then indicated to the Daily Mail a day later that Harry had put off waiting for the invite because he was busy playing ‘transatlantic ping pong’ and was ‘preoccupied’ with where he should sit.

It was said to be one of the reasons he was so late in confirming his decision to attend.

Multiple sources confirmed to the Mail that there were “extensive discussions” between London and California over the matter.

Mr Welby was first asked to act as an intermediary between William and Harry shortly after the Queen’s death in September.

He was previously swept up in the queue around the Sussexes when Meghan claimed in a TV interview that he secretly married them before their official nuptials in 2018.

This forced Mr. Welby to clarify that the ceremony broadcast to the world was the legal marriage.

He was also forced to withdraw from the Church’s General Synod in July 2019 to baptize the couple’s son, Archie.

Despite the king’s silence on the allegations aired in Spare, royal insiders say he was “furious” about his son’s attacks on Queen Camilla, calling her “dangerous” and a “bad guy” in TV interviews to to promote his book.

The duke said, “She was the villain, a third person in the marriage, she had to restore her image.”

Harry also accused William of physically assaulting him and claimed that the palace planted negative stories about Meghan in the media.

Harry has called for a reconciliation with his family, but only if they apologize to him.