The late Queen would have wanted Prince Harry more involved in Coronation, claims royal insider

King Charles III's Coronation was in full throws over the May bank holiday weekend, and it was quite the spectacle. 

The coronation saw a two-hour crowning ceremony take place at London's Westminster Abbey, before they enjoyed the Red Arrows flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on 6 May.

The following day the King and Queen were joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, to watch the Coronation concert at Windsor Castle. 

However, Prince Harry was absent from most of the weekend events, except for the official coronation on Saturday. 

Eagle eyed viewers may have noticed Harry dipped out of other engagements as soon as the coronation was over, and reportedly made his way straight to the airport to return to California to celebrate his son Archie's birthday. 

Former royal butler, Grant Harrold, believes the late Queen Elizabeth II - who tragically passed away in September 2022 - would have wanted her grandson to be more involved in the events. 

Speaking to Oddspedia about the Coronation, Grant shared: "I think the whole thing would have been exactly how the late Queen wanted it to be, if she was there to give approval it would have been exactly how she would have wanted. 

"I’m sure it would have been very strange to see her son wearing the crown, but equally if she was here she would have been very proud of how Charles handled it, it was beautifully done, there was nothing that you could say was wrong with [the ceremony and the procession].

"I think the sad part from her point of view would have been not having Harry and Andrew on the balcony, but as non-working members of the Royal family, that would have been a given.

"I think with the Queen, she was all about family and she would have wanted to have seen them there."

However, Grant acknowledged the royal rules and suggested there could have been private conversations between Harry - who also has daughter Lilibet with wife Meghan Markle -  the royal family, and Coronation organisers, about his plans for the day. 

Grant continued: "The only thing I would say to that and I’m a big supporter of the Royal family, is that it would have been nice for Harry to be there. 

"However, doing so, they risk people not approving and maybe Harry had also decided he had to get back to [the US]. It seems extraordinary that he had to go back that quickly.

Grant also weighed in on the royal outfits for the event, and thinks it was a "shame" he wore a mourning suit instead of his military uniform for the coronation, although he did have his medals fitted to his suit. 

The insider shared: "Prince Harry, it was a shame that he wasn’t able to wear his uniform - he did serve the country and anyone else with a military uniform usually gets to wear it. I don’t know who makes that decision, whether it was the King’s decision or the household’s or Harry’s, but I wondered what the Queen would make of that. She was very proud of her family and their military backgrounds. 

"As far as the King and Queen go, however, and the whole service, I think she would have been over the moon.” 

While Grant believes Harry should have had more involvement in the milestone even tfor his father, he also thinks the Duke of Sussex felt "awkward" attending the event on his own, although he was accompanied by his cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie as he walked into Westminster Abbey.

Grant added: "I was hoping for a reunion between Harry and his family on the day, if I’m honest. 

"Watching Harry walk up on his own, because that’s how the procession goes, I felt awkward for him. With everything that has gone on, there’s no way… he must have felt awkward. When he came out, obviously Beatrice and Eugenie got on with Harry and were chatting with him. I don’t think other members of the Royal family would have ignored him, there’s no way that they wouldn’t have acknowledged him.

"When he left, there was a moment where Harry was on his own because he was returning back [to the US], I think that was just timing and it’s his decision to go back home. If he had stayed, it would have been nice to have thought he would have been invited back to the palace, but maybe he doesn’t want to be in that environment."