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King Charles’ decision to include a family photograph with Harry, Meghan, William, Kate and their children in the official Buckingham Palace souvenir Coronation programme is an ‘olive branch’ in the direction of California, experts told MailOnline today.
The smiling shot was taken by royal photographer Chris Jackson to mark the monarch’s 70th birthday in November 2018 – six months after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex married in Windsor.
The rare, relaxed private picture in the gardens at Clarence House shows Charles with Prince George on his knee, Camilla cuddling Princess Charlotte and the then-Duchess of Cambridge holding a baby Prince Louis.
Behind the bench Prince William stands next to his brother, who has his arm around a laughing Meghan. The happy family photograph belies the fact that behind the scenes, the relationships between all six adults were falling apart.
Meghan and Kate had fallen out over Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid’s dress and Harry was privately accusing his family of not being supportive enough of his new wife, whom he married in May that year.
Experts have said the King’s choice of such a happy photograph is ‘an attempt to show Meghan and Harry are still loved members of the family’, royal commentator Phil Dampier said.
Biographer Tom Bower said the choice of image is an attempt to ‘conceal the truth’ about how Megxit has torn them apart while commentator Richard Fitzwilliams claimed the decision is simply to avoid being accused of leaving the couple out, because Harry and Meghan are ‘deeply conscious of what they perceive to be slights’.
A rare, relaxed private family portrait was taken by royal photographer Chris Jackson to mark the monarch’s 70th birthday in 2018
Charles wants his Coronation to help heal wounds in the Royal Family, experts have said
Mr Dampier told MailOnline: ‘Using the picture including Harry and Meghan is yet another olive branch from the King and an attempt to show they are still loved members of the family.
‘We know of course that relations were already starting to strain but it’s a happy picture which conveys harmony and unity.
‘Most of all it reminds us of what might have been and how it’s so sad the way things have unfolded.
‘Harry and Meghan could have been Royal superstars and helped modernise the monarchy and take it forward deep into the century.
‘But now the slimmed down monarchy is struggling with numbers and an awful lot depends on William and Kate.
‘The King will be hoping that Harry’s presence at the Coronation is the start of a healing process but I don’t see the couple of days that Harry will be here as an opportunity for any meaningful peace talks.
‘The King will be too busy and William has no interest in talking to his brother’.
Royal biographer and investigative journalist Tom Bower told MailOnline the choice of picture from 2018 comes from the right place – but it is also a ‘sad’ reminder of the rift between him, William and his youngest son.
He said: ‘Charles is desperate to preside over a successful Coronation. He will sacrifice everything to conceal the truth. Publishing the photo reminds us only of a sadly missed opportunity – but Charles is certainly not to blame’.
Richard Fitzwilliams said: ‘Yesterday the Palace launched the Official Souvenir Programme of the Coronation. Illustrating one of the articles which extol the King’s virtues is a family photograph – just after the Sussexes marriage in May.
‘They [the Sussexes] are deeply conscious of what they perceive to be slights, they were reportedly aghast when their photograph did not appear amongst those displayed in the Queen’s Christmas broadcast in 2019.
‘This is a happy reminder of times past, when they were considered to be the contemporary face of the monarchy, after a wedding which thrilled the world.
‘Harry’s reported schedule when he attends the Coronation does not allow for accepting olive branches, even if they were proferred. That could, of course, alter. However they want the royal family to apologise for the way they, especially Meghan, were treated. This they won’t get’.
Historic: The cover of the Coronation souvenir, which is a £10, 84-page publication is a unique illustrated souvenir that tells the life stories of Their Majesties and offers a preview of the Coronation day, including the service
It came as the Archbishop of Canterbury said the King will be anointed at his coronation in full knowledge of his ‘difficult’ task as monarch and in recognition of how he ‘shares in our human frailties and vulnerabilities’.
Archbishop Justin Welby, writing in the official coronation souvenir programme, said Charles will swap his ‘robes of status and honour’ for a simple white shirt for the private anointing during the May 6 ceremony.
He wrote of how the historic occasion will be one of ‘magnificence and pomp’ but also in the midst of the ceremony one of ‘stillness and simplicity’ when the King is anointed with holy oil in private under a canopy – in what forms the most sacred part of the coronation.
The King’s anointing is the only part of the coronation ceremony the public will not see and will be a ‘private moment between a new King and the King of Kings’, the Archbishop said.
Elizabeth II was also anointed in private as is the tradition, wearing a plain pleated linen dress over her coronation gown, as she sat beneath a golden canopy.
The Archbishop said the King, dressed in the simple white garment, will come before God as a servant ‘in the full knowledge that the task is difficult and he needs help’.
He added: ‘In the full knowledge that even as a King, he is one of the people and that even if he has a particular role to fulfil, he shares in our human frailties and vulnerabilities’.
The service will move to the moment of crowning as the mood turns to one of celebration, he added.
Prince Harry will attend the King’s Coronation at Westminster Abbey on May 6, but will not appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony afterwards, as that honour is strictly reserved for ‘working royals’
Buckingham Palace officials revealed that King Charles III’s coronation route is around a quarter the length of Queen Elizabeth II’s one 70 years ago
The Archbishop described how coronations ‘often carry with them the hopes and prayers of nations for peace, justice and the common good’.
The £10, 84-page publication is a unique illustrated souvenir that tells the life stories of Their Majesties and offers a preview of the Coronation day, including the service.
The programme is published by Publications UK, who also published the Official Platinum Jubilee Programme and that of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.
It is on sale now at WHSmith, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Waitrose and independent newsagents.
A percentage of high street sales will be split between two charities: the Royal Collection Trust and SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity.
King Charles III – who adores anything with eggs and cheese – has plumped for a ‘Coronation Quiche’ to celebrate being crowned
Further details also emerged about the celebrations, with the eve of the coronation set to be marked by a glittering Buckingham Palace reception attended by foreign royalty.
Princess Beatrix, the former queen of the Netherlands, has confirmed her attendance at the event, expected to be hosted by Charles, alongside her granddaughter and heir to the Dutch throne Catharina-Amalia, the Princess of Orange.
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands will not be among the guests, who are likely to include British royalty and presidents and prime ministers from across the globe, but will be at Westminster Abbey to see Charles and Camilla crowned.
Meanwhile, with just over two weeks to go until the May 6 ceremony, it was revealed that the King and Queen Consort have personally chosen Coronation Quiche as their celebratory recipe.
Seventy years after Coronation Chicken was created for Elizabeth II’s coronation, Charles and Camilla selected a personal favourite as their recommended dish for Coronation Big Lunches.
The recipe is by royal head chef Mark Flanagan and features spinach, broad beans and tarragon.
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