Prince Andrew and Prince Harry will have no formal role at the coronation© Getty

Why Prince Harry and Prince Andrew have no formal role at the coronation

The Duke of Sussex has flown over from the US to attend his father's coronation

Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
May 6, 2023

The Duke of Sussex and the Duke of York will not have any formal role at the coronation, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.

Prince Harry, 38, and Prince Andrew, 63, who are no longer working royals, will attend the service at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, but will not perform any duties. The Dukes are expected to be dressed in suits and not military uniforms.

Harry and Andrew will not be included in the procession as the newly crowned King and Queen depart Westminster Abbey in the Gold State Coach to travel back to Buckingham Palace after the service.

It will mark the first time the Duke of Sussex has been seen publicly with his family since the late Queen Elizabeth II's funeral last September, and since he made a number of shocking claims about Charles, Camilla, and the Prince and Princess of Wales in his tell-all memoir, Spare, which was published in January.

READ: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's post-coronation celebrations revealed

PHOTOS: Princess Kate, Prince William and King Charles surprise crowds with pre-coronation walkabout 

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Prince Harry was last in the UK back in March

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Prince Harry was last seen with Prince William and King Charles at the Queen's funeral

Harry will attend his father's coronation without his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, who has remained in the US with the couple's two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Archie's fourth birthday coincides with the same day his grandfather is crowned, and Harry is expected to make a swift return to California to be back to celebrate his son's special day.

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Meghan and Harry at a Lakers Game last month. She will not join her husband at the coronation

The Duke was last seen publicly in the UK at the end of March, when he made a surprise appearance at the High Court, in a privacy claim against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers over allegations of unlawful information-gathering. See his arrival in the clip below...

WATCH: Prince Harry arrives at the High Court in London

Prince Andrew stepped back from public duties in November 2019, following his much-talked-about TV interview with BBC Newsnight, which focused on his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In February 2022, he reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre, after she filed a case against the Duke for allegedly sexually assaulting her on three occasions when she was 17 and a minor under US law.  Andrew has vehemently denied the allegations.

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Prince Andrew attended the Easter Sunday church service with the royals

Ahead of the US lawsuit, the late Queen stripped Andrew of his honorary military roles and he stopped using the style 'His Royal Highness' in any official capacity.

The Duke's ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, with whom he still resides at Royal Lodge in Windsor, has not been invited to the coronation, but will be among the crowd at the coronation concert at Windsor Castle on Sunday night.

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Sarah will attend the coronation concert at Windsor Castle

Andrew and Sarah's daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and their husbands, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and Jack Brooksbank respectively, are expected to attend the Westminster Abbey service on Saturday.

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Beatrice and Eugenie will attend a Big Lunch event in Windsor on Sunday

Beatrice and Edoardo have a one-year-old daughter, Sienna, while Eugenie and Jack are parents to two-year-old August and are expecting their second child in the coming months.

Princess Eugenie and her son August Brooksbank attended the Platinum Pageant

It's not known if the children will make any public appearances over the coronation weekend.

Ahead of the concert – which features an all-star lineup of performers including Take That, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry – Beatrice and Eugenie will attend a Big Lunch event in Windsor.

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