Prince Harry Is Already Heading Home to Meghan Markle After King Charles’ Coronation

Saturday saw the official coronation of King Charles III, and his son Prince Harry flew into the UK from Montecito, California, to attend. Just hours later, he headed back. BAZAAR reports that the Duke of Sussex left Westminster Abbey and London very soon after his father was crowned, and is returning to his wife Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie and Lilibet. The coronation happened to coincide with Archie’s fourth birthday, and the Duke clearly wants to be back with his family for the rest of the weekend.

The coronation was attended by most of the British royal family, including Harry’s brother Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton. Harry was seated two rows behind the Prince and Princess of Wales, beside his cousins Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice and their husbands, Jack Brooksbank and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

Unlike his brother, Harry was wearing a simple suit. After stepping back as a working member of the royal family, Harry lost his honorary military titles and is no longer allowed to wear a uniform for formal occasions. Their was one exception in 2022 for the vigil of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.

Both Harry and Meghan were invited to the coronation ceremony, but Meghan chose to stay home with the children and her husband was ultimately in the UK for less than 48 hours. Tensions have been high between Harry and the rest of his family since the release of Harry’s memoir Spare, which detailed a number of private conflicts between members of the British royal family.

He and Meghan also have a Netflix docuseries Meghan & Harry that came out in late 2022 which discusses their decision to leave England after being hounded by the press and feeling abandoned by the royal family. The last time they were both in the UK with King Charles or William was during the funeral of Queen Elizabeth last September.

Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.