Prince Harry skips King Charles’ ‘Scottish Coronation’ as family rift continues

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle skipped King Charles’ Scottish Coronation in Edinburgh yesterday as their rift with the royal family continues.

The Prince and Princess of Wales joined the and Queen during a service of thanksgiving and dedication at St Giles’ Cathedral where Charles was presented with the Honours of Scotland which are Britain’s oldest crown jewels.

His Scottish celebrations followed his Coronation in Westminster Abbey on May 6 which Harry attended without Meghan who chose to stay at home in the US with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

However, despite attending that day, the Duke and Duchess decided to give his ‘second Coronation’ a miss which was expected as they stepped down from the royal family more than three years ago now.

They did return to the UK for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and her funeral in September last year but did not make an appearance at the King’s first Trooping the Colour last month, the Mirror reports.

The Coronation was the first time Harry had come face to face with his family since the release of his bombshell memoir Spare.

In his tell-all book, the Duke accused his older brother Prince William of physically attacking him during a heated argument.

He also revealed a disagreement between his wife Meghan and sister-in-law Kate over the Duchess’ bridesmaid dresses in 2018.

The service to honour the King in the Capital yesterday featured centuries-old aspects of Scottish royal tradition with new additions such as pieces of music written specially for the occasion, a psalm sung in Gaelic and the use of passages from the New Testament in Scots.

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, preached the sermon and then gave a blessing to conclude the service.

The King was presented with the sceptre and crown from the Honours of Scotland during the ceremony along with the Elizabeth Sword which was commissioned last year.

The Elizabeth sword in honour of the late Queen was specially crafted to be used in place of the current Sword of State, gifted to James VI by Pope Julius in 1507 which can no longer be used due to its fragile condition.

Dame Katherine Grainger carried the Elizabeth Sword; Lady Dorrian, the Lord Justice Clerk, will hold the sceptre and the Duke of Hamilton the Crown of Scotland.

Before the service, a people’s procession of around 100 community groups retrieved the honours from Edinburgh Castle.

The procession was then escorted to the cathedral by the Royal Regiment of Scotland its Shetland Pony mascot Corporal Cruachan IV, supported by cadet musicians from the combined cadet force pipes and drums.

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