London:
Princes Harry and Andrew attended King Charles III’s coronation on Saturday but were relegated to the third row of royal seats, with no formal role in the proceedings.
Charles’ youngest son Harry and his American wife Meghan retired from royal duties in 2020 and have since unleashed a series of barbed attacks on the monarchy.
Andrew, the King’s eldest brother, has been ruled out due to his previous dealings with the disgraced late US financier Jeffrey Epstein and a related sexual abuse allegation that was settled out of court.
Driven in a state car from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in London, part of the crowd in a grandstand outside the palace booed as Andrew passed.
Harry, 38, the Duke of Sussex, and Andrew, 63, the Duke of York, arrived at the abbey with other members of the royal family.
It is the first time Harry has joined his family since exposing them to a barrage of harsh criticism in his recent memoir “Spare” and in a series of television interviews.
Meghan has remained in California with the couple’s young children, avoiding potentially awkward interactions with her in-laws.
Smiles in the Abbey
Former British Army Captain Harry, who served in Afghanistan, wore a morning suit with his medals, while Andrew – who flew Royal Navy helicopters in the 1982 Falklands War – wore his robes as a knight of the garter.
Harry was seen talking to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, husband of his cousin Princess Beatrice, Andrew’s eldest daughter.
He also had a brief conversation with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, after entering the Great West Door.
Welby married Harry and Meghan in May 2018 at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
Both Harry and Andrew were seen smiling as they made their way through the abbey to their seats.
They were both placed in the third row – inconsistent with their place in the line of succession to the throne.
Harry is fifth in line to the throne, following his brother Prince William and William’s three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis of Wales.
Andrew is eighth in line after Harry and his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet of Sussex.
Andrew sat at the end of the row next to Beatrice, while Harry sat next to Jack Brooksbank, the husband of Andrew’s youngest daughter Princess Eugenie.
Saturday is Archie’s fourth birthday, so Harry could soon return to his home in California.
Andrew’s ties to Epstein – friend of the Prince’s boyfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell – continued to haunt him.
An American woman, Virginia Giuffre, said she was pressured to have sex with Andrew when she was 17 after giving birth to Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 of buying a child for prostitution.
Andrew denied the allegations in a BBC interview in November 2019, which nevertheless ended badly.
Within days he stepped back from his patronage and in May 2020 he resigned permanently from all public positions.
The case was settled out of court in February 2022, with Giuffre accepting a donation to her charity and no admission of liability from Andrew.
Andrew took part in events surrounding Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, but Charles, other than mourning his mother, has shown no signs of allowing him a return to public life.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)