Prince Harry has come under fire for his plans to make a brief appearance in the UK for King Charles and Queen Camilla's forthcoming Coronation before returning to his Montecito, California, home. The Duke of Sussex will attend the official ceremony at Westminster Abbey, while his wife Meghan Markle stays in California with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
The 38-year-old prince is believed to be heading home immediately after the event to celebrate Archie's fourth birthday with the young prince's school friends and the couple's celebrity acquaintances. However, Harry's decision to skip the Coronation concert at Windsor Castle and other post-Coronation events has drawn criticism from Lizzie Cundy, Meghan's former friend.
In an interview with the Mirror, the 54-year-old Cundy expressed her disapproval: "Prince Harry coming to the Coronation and dipping his toe in and out, he'll have a hard job walking away with any pride, he'll be on one leg as his other foot will be in his mouth."
Cundy, a model and TV presenter, suggested that Harry's brief appearance at the Coronation is a calculated move: "He's only coming to the Coronation for a fleeting moment so he can write in his next book or say in his next interview with Meghan, how poorly treated he was by everybody and how his dad didn't want him."
She continued: "King Charles has so sweetly invited them, despite all their interviews and trashing of the Royal Family to the Coronation. They have taken forever to answer him and are now using the poor excuse that Meghan can't go because of Archie's birthday but Harry is still coming despite him trashing the royals and everything it stands for."
Cundy warned that Harry's actions may backfire: "This will backfire terribly, Harry this isn't about you. This is about your father, his Coronation – the most monumental and historic day, many of us will never see a Coronation in our lifetime."
Cundy also took issue with Harry's decision not to stay after the event, urging him to remain in California and noting that King Charles and Queen Camilla had gone to great lengths to include the Sussexes in the official program for the Coronation.
It is expected that Prince Harry will be seated with non-working royal family members, such as Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Cassius Taylor, Lady Sarah Chatto, and Zara Tindall, during the event.