King Charles coronation

But don't princes have to take part in the Coronation and swear an oath of lifelong loyalty to become "a liege man of life and limb" like Prince Philip did? They have to swear loyalty as part of the ancient ceremony - unless Charles is going to abandon that bit.

Well, Harry has been incredibly disloyal, so to take that oath (supposing he would agree to do it) would make a complete mockery of it.

They will be invited just as all the other royals are, not a special invite and I haven't seen the word 'insisting'.

hopefully they will decline

The Coronation is not a family party, it's a Monarchy ceremony.

Of course they won’t decline, how laughable.

I think King Charles is doing the right thing. As someone upthread said, Harry is his son. That aside, can you imagine the media hysteria, speculation and downright nastiness towards Charles if he hadn’t invited Harry? It’s now up to H & M to decide what to do - the ball is very firmly in their court, the invitation has been given.

Why? Because they are his son and daughter in law.

I am an unrepentent republican but that doesn't mean I don't have For reasons I can't discuss I've come to have some well-founded respect for at least some members of the family, including Charles, his second and current wife (but never his first) and his late mother, as human beings rather than the almost god-life creatures they are officially depicted as, and I began to realise that these people are just as much prisoners of the institution as anybody else. The courtiers, all people of a very conservative and traditionalist, disposition make the rules, and the family has to live within the bounds they set unless they can slip the lead for a while. Anecdotal evidence abounds of the late Queen being easily distracted from protocols when somebody piques her interest, or of bantering with a group of squaddies just off manoevres she'd given a lift to on the way back from an off-duty trip to the races, or of chit-chat with the cinema manager hosting her at a royal perfermance. She and the avowedly republican Robin Cook (the best PM we never had, in my view) got on like a house on fire because of their shared love of horse-racing. It was known that she wanted her visitors (as for investitures) to feel comfortable and not have to do anything that felt wrong to them, like bowing and curtseying. But the palace insiders insist on maintaining the protocols within the privacy of the palace, and when Meghan was told that she was expected to curtsey, not just to the Queen but to her brother and sister-in-law but in her husband's absence to just about everybody else connected with the family she was furious, and so would I be. It looks and sounds like a deliberate humiliation from the custodians of protocol, a vicious dig at somebody who was clearly "not one of us". For Meghan was not only of mixed heritage, she was brought up in a very different culture in a foreign country; she is not evil, she is an American, a Californian even, and a Southern Californian at that, raised to be emotionally open and candid, physical and unstuffy and undeferential. It didn't sit well with the stoical, stiff-upper-lipped traditions of the court but it's not her fault, if indeed it is a fault.

And before we get carried away with notions of centuries of tradition, it's always good to remember that most of the frippery and flummery associated with the royal family is not much more than a year old, beginning with the elaborate arrangements for the funeral of Queen Victoria. Victoria was an unpopular recluse for much of her reign.

the invitation has been given.

Except it hasn't.

Now, am I being picky, and pedantic? Or am I pointing out the fact that something that "might " happen hasn't happened at all. It well might, it probably will, but if it doesn't, we'll be having a "why did the King change his mind"? thread.

It seems to me that people often read something, add a spin, embellish it to make it suit their preconceptions, and go from there. Its not good. Its not good at all.

LadyHonoriaDedlock A thoughtful and interesting post.

Ziplok

I think King Charles is doing the right thing. As someone upthread said, Harry is his son. That aside, can you imagine the media hysteria, speculation and downright nastiness towards Charles if he hadn’t invited Harry? It’s now up to H & M to decide what to do - the ball is very firmly in their court, the invitation has been given.

The best decision, having thought about it.👏🏻

Good post LadyHonoriaDedlock

Glorianny

Funny isn't it point out any of Charles' huge gaffes and you are immediately jumped on. Suddenly he's a cross between St Theresa and the pope and untouchable.
H&M are now the "baddies"
I'm currently reading "In Defence of Witches" and I just realised that many of you would have had Meghan hung as a witch at one time (they were never burned in the UK). She cast a spell on our prince and spirited him away!

Just to clarify that English witches were burnt at the stake, for example Agnes Prest in 1554. I'm not sure if your book is reliable if it says they weren't.

Sorry, Agnes Prest was a religious martyr, not sure if that counts, but obviously they were burnt at the stake.

Witches were definitely burnt at the stake in Scotland. Right up until 1727.

This reminds me of the Prodigal Son who returns home after a long absence having spent all his money and to his surprise is welcomed back by his father.

NanKate

This reminds me of the Prodigal Son who returns home after a long absence having spent all his money and to his surprise is welcomed back by his father.

Well, I always felt sympathy for the son who stayed at home, did all the work, then seemed to be cast aside in favour of the naughty one.

Wasn’t surprised he felt miffed!

According to English Heritage
Witches were burned at the stake

Not in English-speaking countries. Witchcraft was a felony in both England and its American colonies, and therefore witches were hanged, not burned. However, witches’ bodies were burned in Scotland, though they were strangled to death first.

How strange, we always think of witches being burnt at the stake. But religious martyrs were.

Chestnut

How strange, we always think of witches being burnt at the stake. But religious martyrs were.

Probably thinking of Joan of Arc. Witches were ducked in ducking chairs or held underwater in medieval times. If you floated you were a witch and were then executed by some horrible means. If you drowned you weren’t a witch so presumably you went to Heaven. In more recent times it’s the Pendle witchcraft trials in uk and Salem in the US. 19 witches were found guilty and executed by hanging in Salem.

I thought of the Prodigal Son too however, the son returned full of remorse for what he'd done, telling his father he would accept the status of a servant because all he wanted was to be forgiven by his father and allowed to stay.

GrannyLaine

Er, might it have something to do with the fact that Harry is his son...........?

Exactly. Give hm a break, and it’s his decision fgs

Smileless2012

I thought of the Prodigal Son too however, the son returned full of remorse for what he'd done, telling his father he would accept the status of a servant because all he wanted was to be forgiven by his father and allowed to stay.

And that may come to pass.

That aside, can you imagine the media hysteria, speculation and downright nastiness towards Charles if he hadn’t invited Harry?

Charles won't be inviting or uninviting Harry.

The Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, will organise and invite anyone expected to be at the Coronation

It's the crowning of the new monarch, our Head of State.
Dukes and Duchesses will be invited.
Everything will be done to a strict protocol
Family feelings will not enter into it one way or another

It's not a family party

Witches were hung. More details here www.english-heritage.org.uk/learn/histories/eight-witchcraft-myths/

(they were never burned in the UK)

The UK wasn't just England. Even in 1727.

Smileless2012 I think you got the Prodigal Son story correct, thanks for sorting that 👍

I only wish Harry would have some remorse.