At the recent coronation of King Charles, two controversial figures in the royal family, Prince Andrew and Prince Harry, were allegedly sidelined, drawing speculation about the fallout from the ceremony. Express columnist Richard Madeley weighed in on the matter, questioning which of the two princes left the event more "battered and bruised."
Madeley observed that both Prince Andrew and Prince Harry, the King's brother and youngest son, were seated far from the senior royals during the event. Neither was given a role in the ceremony, and both were absent from the balcony appearance of the royal family.
While Prince Andrew, despite his controversies, was seen enjoying the coronation concert along with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, Prince Harry's stay was notably brief. He returned to the United States soon after the ceremony to reunite with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their children, Lily and Archie, who celebrated his 4th birthday on the same day.
Madeley reported on the contrasting receptions the two princes received. He noted that Prince Andrew was booed during the procession, an incident that was not widely reported in the media.
"Andrew got booed. It wasn't reported by broadcast media on the day... but nevertheless he was seriously booed as his limo purred down The Mall. Quite a chorus of them, by all accounts," Madeley wrote. He also commented on Prince Andrew's apparent obliviousness to the public's perception of him, "This man just cannot read the room, can he?"
Prince Harry, on the other hand, experienced a more subtle form of disapproval. According to Madeley, the Duke of Sussex was largely ignored during his brief presence at the abbey. "As he walked alone to his seat, the great and the good flanking the aisle studiously ignored him. You could see Harry trying to catch the odd eye: no one wanted to know."
Despite feeling sorry for Prince Harry, Madeley suggested that his alienation was a result of his own actions. He posited that Prince Harry could have had a very different experience at the coronation had he stayed with his family. However, the Duke of Sussex appeared to be hurried to leave and return to his home in Montecito.
Given the disparate reactions to the two princes, Madeley found it challenging to discern who was more negatively affected by the coronation experience. Whether Prince Andrew's public scorn or Prince Harry's silent shunning was more severe remains a topic of debate.