Prince William Has 'No Interest' in Talking to Brother Prince Harry Before King's Coronation, Source Says
The brothers have been estranged for years and Harry's January release of his memoir, 'Spare,' only furthered the rift.
Don't expect a royal reconciliation at King Charles III's coronation next month. Charles' estranged son, Prince Harry, will be attending the historic event solo, his older brother, Prince William, has "no interest" in speaking to the Spare author ahead of the festivities, a source tells ET.
A source close to the royal family tells ET, “William is still upset about Harry’s book. He feels it was a betrayal and he has no interest in communicating with Harry before the coronation about their disagreements."
Though Harry has expressed an interest in mending his relationship with his brother and father, the source adds, “The relationship is still fractured, and it is unclear when they will be able to mend fences."
Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have been estranged from the royal family since their announcement that they were stepping down from their positions as senior members of the royal family in 2020.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have spoken about the public family tension multiple times, most recently in their Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, which was released in December 2022, and in Harry's tell-all memoir, Spare, which was released in January.
While promoting Spare, Harry told U.K. journalist Tom Brady that he was hopeful he could sit down to speak with his family before the coronation to discuss their differences.
But ET's royal insider says, "that’s just not likely to happen” before the coronation.
Earlier this month, Buckingham Palace announced that Harry would be attending the coronation ceremony on May 6 at Westminster Abbey without his wife. In the announcement, the Palace noted that May 6 is also the couple's son Archie's fourth birthday.
King Charles III's coronation takes place on May 6 and will formalize his role as the head of the Church of England and mark the transfer of his title and powers. It marks the official moment he is crowned king. King Charles will be crowned with the St Edward's Crown from the 17th century, which weighs nearly 5 pounds, and has a solid gold frame and 444 stones.
His wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, will also be anointed and crowned as Queen Consort. Camilla will be the first divorcee to be crowned, and the coronation invitation that was released in April made headlines when it referred to her as Queen Camilla for the first time. Until then, she had been described as queen consort.
Despite Harry and Meghan's estrangement from the royal family, the couple is featured in the official souvenir program celebrating the coronation, which includes a happy photo of the family -- including Prince William, Kate Middleton and their three kids, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis -- celebrating King Charles' 70th birthday.
Although the actual anointment during the coronation ceremony is not broadcast publicly, plenty of special programming and live footage from the ceremony will be available to watch live on May 6 starting at 5 a.m. ET. Cable viewers will be able to watch coverage on ABC News and Good Morning America, including the concert featuring Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. Others can watch the coronation online on these streaming platforms.
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