SARAH VINE: Next month’s Coronation must be about the King and Queen, not the Sussexes

No doubt the official line will be one of quiet, respectful regret, but honestly you can almost hear the collective sigh of relief emanating from the palace.

They may have 99 problems staging one of the spectacles of the century, but the prospect of the Duchess of Sussex derailing the entire coronation with what loveless souls might consider one of her signature dramas is not one of them.

Instead, Prince Harry will come alone, leaving his wife and two children at home in California. Doubtless he will have as stony a face as the last times he has graced us with his holy presence; but at least we won’t have to endure the whole woe-we-we-we-in-hat melodrama.

The coronation should be about King Charles and Queen Camilla, about the royal family as a beloved British institution, not these two moaning minnies with their tiresomely endless grievances and supposed scorns. If they could have both gotten into the spirit of love and reconciliation it would have been fantastic. But you just know that wouldn’t have been the case.

Harry’s presence is already feeling corny, with his official spokeswoman, Omid Scobie, warning that he’ll only make a fleeting appearance amid claims he won’t even bother going to Buckingham Palace after the main event.

The coronation should be about King Charles and Queen Camilla, about the royal family as a beloved British institution

It all gives the impression that he’s just being coerced, meaning that if the Duchess accompanied him, the whole thing would have been a minefield.

Everyone would walk on eggshells, desperately worried in case they accidentally upset her and end up on another episode of the Poor Little Me Podcast.

I’m sorry to be so cynical, but that’s what experience has taught us over the past 18 months. Given all that’s happened, it’s hard to see how the Duchess’s presence could be anything but a distraction at best, a poisonous veil over the entire proceedings at worst.

And that’s a real shame. Not just for Charles who, let’s not forget, so gallantly walked Meghan down the aisle and considers her (and his grandchildren) a cherished part of the family. Or for Harry, who, despite his renunciation of his royal duties, might still have wished his children – the ones he’s so determined to call Prince and Princess – could be part of such a monumental historic event. But for all of us loyal monarchists who hate to see the royal family rip themselves apart like this.

It’s also a bit of a missed opportunity. Harry believes his family owes him an apology. I would say that after the way he behaved, after the terrible things he said and the way he betrayed so many who love him, an invitation to the coronation was much more than regret: it was a gracious , kind gesture. , an olive branch. And, frankly, more than either of them deserved.

Had they had any decency—or sense—they would have accepted it immediately in the spirit of atonement, taken this as an opportunity to draw a line under all the filth and resentment, and finally begin to heal wounds and to proceed.

Instead, no: they’ve doubled the beef between them. Meghan’s absence may come as a huge relief to the palace and the most sensible of people; but it’s also unmistakably a censure, one that – and forgive me for being so blunt – I think sends a very clear message: Stop your coronation, your royal family and your tradition. Stuff you, King Charles, and everything you stand for.

There is no way back. And maybe that’s what they both want. Meghan has made no secret of the fact that she sees her future and “focus” in America.

Well, she’s welcome to it – and she to her.