Royal security expert says ‘there’s no way’ Harry could have slipped into Buckingham Palace

A royal security expert today poured cold water on claims Prince Harry slipped into Buckingham Palace after his father’s coronation by insisting there was “logistically no way” he could have made the pit stop.

Reports suggested the Duke of Sussex made a quick stop at the palace after King Charles’s service at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, before traveling to Heathrow Airport to return to the United States for his son Archie’s birthday.

Photos show the Prince leaving the Abbey at 1.15pm and getting into a black BMW before exiting the A4 at 1.50pm and at the entrance to Heathrow 10 minutes later.

Ken Wharfe, a former Royal Protection Officer to Harry’s mother Princess Diana, told MailOnline today that the tight timing meant there was “no way” the Duke could have stopped at the palace.

“From the West End to Heathrow you watch about 35 minutes under police escort, that’s the fastest time you’re ever going to do,” he said.

‘My own opinion is that I see no point in him going to the palace, there would be no one to receive him anyway and all his family were present at the abbey for the coronation.

“I think it is highly unlikely that he has stopped. I see no reason for it.

“It sounds ridiculous, but the only possible reason would be to stop if he feels unwell.”

Mr Wharf also added that it would be ‘impossible’ for Harry to enter and leave the palace without being seen, especially with so many people in central London on that day.

According to a report in the Telegraph, Harry made the pit stop for “logistical reasons” to keep himself out of the public eye after the two-hour ceremony.

It comes after the king expressed “regret” for Harry’s absence and toasted “those who weren’t there” at the royal family’s celebratory luncheon.

The Duke was back in California on Sunday morning and therefore did not join the royal family for official coronation portraits and was not at the coronation concert.

Sources told the Telegraph that Prince Harry’s lack of contact was “practical” and he was eager to return to his wife and children in the United States while the rest of the family was busy with the coronation procession.

It is Prince Harry’s first time at the palace since the Queen’s funeral last September.

He was in Britain earlier this year to attend court proceedings, but is not known to have seen King Charles III or Prince William.

He sat in the third row for his father and stepmother’s coronation at Westminster Abbey – two rows behind his brother Prince William.

It is clear that Prince Harry adhered to the dress code prescribed for the ceremony, wearing 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 royal family luncheon, King Charles III raised a glass to his three grandchildren, Prince George – who also served as page of honor – Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who were among the stars of the show and performed their public appearances with aplomb.

But he also toasted “those who weren’t there” and wished his other grandson a very happy birthday “wherever he was.”

“Apparently it was a very sweet moment,” a source told MailOnline.

Meanwhile, a royal expert said last night that the first official portrait of King Charles III after the coronation shows him as a “monarch who knows his own mind” surrounded by “the people he can rely on.”

On Monday, the sovereign saw the opening series of royal photos revealing the king’s new “slimed-down” monarchy, with his “hard-working and respected” sister Princess Anne and loving wife Queen Camilla firmly by his side.

And to mark his reign as head of state, the 74-year-old sovereign was unveiled in a striking new solo portrait to commemorate his historic coronation.

“This is a powerful portrait of a monarch who knows his own mind and is very experienced,” royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline last night.

It comes because Harry’s wife Meghan was spotted walking near their £11 million Montecito mansion just hours after the coronation service.

The Duchess of Sussex was joined by her friends, Markus Anderson and Heather Dorak, in California on Sunday after celebrating her son Archie’s birthday on Saturday.

It was the first time she had been seen in public since her father-in-law’s coronation on Saturday.

Meghan was conspicuously absent from the royal festivities in the UK this weekend, as she stayed in the US to celebrate her son Archie’s “quiet” birthday at their home in Montecito.

Sources claim that Meghan decided to celebrate at the couple’s house because “she felt it wouldn’t be authentic to do anything else.”

Archie had a “private party” with a lemon tart baked by the Duchess of Sussex using fruit from their garden, a source close to the couple said.

Archie’s grandmother Doria Ragland is said to have attended the youngster’s birthday party, as well as Meghan’s close friend, makeup mogul Victoria Jackson, 65.

When asked if any of the partygoers included celebrity neighbors like Oprah Winfrey, a source said, “Some of their friends are celebrities, so yeah, that’s likely. It will be a small, intimate gathering.’

Her estranged father Thomas Markle, 78, told the MoS he believed “it was best” for the Duchess to stay home. “There are too many differences between Meghan, Harry and the Royals,” he added.

Meanwhile, the King was back at work today as he broke new ground for a £58 million research facility aimed at developing net-zero flight technology.

On the monarch’s first engagement after his coronation over the weekend, he paid an hour-long visit to the Whittle Laboratory at Cambridge University.

Established 50 years ago, the research center is developing a brand new laboratory that will bring together the world’s top aviation and energy experts to achieve zero-emission flights as soon as possible.

It is a fitting first engagement for the King, who is a staunch environmentalist but will no longer be able to speak out on such issues after his ascension.

As the coronation festivities drew to a close last night, the King and Queen pledged to rededicate their lives to service, as Charles called the country’s support during the historic celebrations “the greatest coronation gift possible.”

Elsewhere, the Duchess of Edinburgh will be visiting Morden College in Blackheath, London, of which she is a patron, while the Duke will attend a dinner at Stonehage Fleming in St James’s Square for his patron, the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on reports of the Duke’s visit.