With his circle of friends continuing to shrink, Prince Harry will be struggling for allies at King Charles’ Coronation.
In years gone by, the Duke of Sussex would have been surrounded by loved ones and friends at a huge royal occasion.
According to insiders, Harry was acutely aware that the historic occasion will be “pretty much the most important day” of the King’s life and knew he would regret not attending.
However, Harry will have a small number of allies at the Coronation, including some famous faces and the wife of a world leader.
Ant and Dec
Few people would have expected Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly to have spots at the Coronation ceremony – but they have close connections to the monarchy.
The Geordie duo will be part of the congregation inside the Abbey on May 6 as they have been ambassadors of The Prince’s Trust for more than 20 years.
They have hosted The Prince’s Trust Awards 10 times and made a documentary with Charles in 2015, in which he declined their invitation to appear on I’m A Celebrity.
The royal connection extends to Harry and William, who ribbed each other during an interview with Ant and Dec in 2006.
Harry pointed out to his dad that the two men chatting to them were actually hit artists PJ and Duncan.
Britain’s Got Talent hosts also threw their support behind Harry in 2019 by commending the important work he was doing around World Mental Health Day.
On a very serious Coronation day, the cheeky chappies could provide some comfort to Harry.
Jill Biden
Harry will have a very unlikely ally in the form of First Lady Jill Biden, who is representing America instead of US President Joe Biden.
While the decision has raised some eyebrows, especially after Biden and his wife traveled to London for the funeral of the late Queen last September, a sitting US President has never been at a Coronation.
The professor and the prince first formed a bond a decade ago over their shared interest in veterans – and both Bidens have attended Harry’s Invictus Games.
During Harry’s 2013 tour of the US, he attended a reception of American and British wounded service members along with Jill, who was second lady at the time.
Harry credits that trip with giving him the inspiration to start the Invictus Games – and Mrs Biden cheered the US team on at the inaugural event in London in 2014.
She also attended the event in Florida in 2016 and in Toronto in 2017 along with her husband, who has joked about how close his wife and Harry had become.
Joking about his wife’s involvement in the inaugural Games, Biden said: “Jill went to London for the last Games. She spent too much damn time with Prince Harry!”
He also joked about how easily the pair had hit it off, saying at the time: “I read in the Guardian, or one of them, and it says — I’m paraphrasing — ‘everywhere Prince Harry went, he had this blonde woman on his arm.’ The vice-president’s wife! I’m a little worried here, you know what I mean?”
At the virtual Warrior Games event held last month, Dr. Biden spoke highly of Harry, specifically citing his military service and work with veterans.
Jill also recently revealed that she had finished Harry’s autobiography Spare – but didn’t give an opinion on his memoir.
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank
It seems Harry has burnt bridges with most of the Royal Family – but he is still close with Princess Eugenie.
Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank have often been seen sharing a laugh with the Sussexes at royal events.
She was the first and possibly only royal visitor to see the Sussexes when they moved to California and Harry recalls attending a Halloween party with his cousin in his book Spare.
Prince Andrew’s daughter also appeared in the couple’s Netflix docuseries, cycling with Harry on the beach, and her son August is just four months older than Lili.
It was previously reported that most members of the Royal Family ‘have no interest in talking to Harry beyond basic greetings’, but it was added Eugenie and sister Beatrice may be the only “exceptions”.
However, the dynamic may have changed after the sisters were spotted meeting up and sharing jokes with outspoken TV host Piers Morgan at a pub.
A source told OK! Magazine that the couple are “astonished” that his cousins have “gone behind their backs.”
“After everything Piers has said about them as a couple – especially Meghan, who he’s called so many names – Harry and Meghan are astonished that they’ve gone behind their backs,” the source revealed.
They added: “It will be interesting to see how Harry interacts with his cousins during the Coronation.”
