The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been invited to the coronation of his father King Charles later this year, but declined to confirm whether they will attend.
Prince Harry, who has launched a series of extraordinary attacks against the royal family along with his wife Meghan in recent months, has confirmed that he has received an email from his father regarding the event.
The coronation, which will be seen by millions in the UK and possibly billions around the world, will take place on May 6 – the same day as the fourth birthday of Archie, Harry’s son.
The news comes days after Charles kicked his son and daughter-in-law out of their UK home, Frogmore Cottage, a move that would complicate future visits to the California-based couple’s UK.
It was revealed the same evening that Harry spoke candidly about his use of illegal drugs during an intimate conversation with ‘toxic trauma’ expert Dr Gabor Mate in an online live stream.
King Charles has invited his youngest son Prince Harry to his coronation on May 6 this year. Pictured: Harry speaks with his father as his wife Meghan Markle watches at Trooping The Color 2018
The Sussexes have not yet confirmed whether they will attend the coronation. Pictured: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Andalusian Gardens in Morocco’s capital Rabat in 2019
There has been much debate in recent months over whether King Charles would invite his youngest son to his coronation.
Relations between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family have become tense in recent years, with both Harry and Meghan openly criticizing the firm.
Not only did Harry get out of the house, but revealed intimate, personal conversations with himself and other members of this family, his memoir Spare, which was released earlier this year.
The publication saw explosive details of Harry and his older brother William’s fractious relationship exposed, including the Duke recounting how they were involved in a physical altercation that left Harry visibly injured.
This was followed by Charles evicting Harry and Meghan from their grace-and-grace home, Frogmore Cottage, which is in the grounds of the Windsor estate.
It has been suggested that the King will offer the Sussexes the chance to use Prince Andrew’s Buckingham Palace apartment as an olive branch to entice them to return to the UK for visits.
Despite this, a spokesperson for the Sussexes confirmed that the pair have now been invited to the event.
A spokesman for Sussex told The Times: ‘I can confirm that the Duke has recently received email correspondence from His Majesty’s Office regarding the coronation.
“An immediate decision as to whether the Duke and Duchess will attend will not be announced by us at this time.”
King Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort, depart after a visit to Bolton Town Hall on January 20, 2023
Oils from the Mount of Olives mixed with essential oils and blessed in Jerusalem to become Chris oil, which will be used at the coronation
It comes after Harry admitted last night that marijuana had “really helped” him, but that cocaine and alcohol were “more social” during a candid Q&A.
Trauma expert Dr Gabor Mate spoke about how people used drugs to cope with problems in their lives before asking Harry’s about his reasons for using drugs, including cocaine and cannabis.
“The first one you mentioned didn’t do anything for me, it was more of a social thing. It gave me a sense of belonging and probably made me feel different from how I felt,” said Harry.
“Marijuana is different, that really helped me.”
The prince said alcohol was also “more of a social thing” and complained about peer pressure around drinking.
He added that using psychedelics was like “cleaning the windshield, removing the filters of life.”
“It removed everything for me and gave me a sense of relaxation, release, comfort, a lightness that I could hold on to for a while,” he said.
“For me, I started doing it recreationally and then started to realize how good it was for me. I would say it’s one of the fundamental parts of my life that has changed me and helped me deal with the trauma and pain of the past.”