King Charles is keen to have the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at his coronation as ‘their absence would be a greater distraction than their presence’, according to a report.
But he allegedly faces opposition from Prince William who fears his brother could ‘steal the limelight’ on the historic weekend.
There has been ongoing speculation about whether Prince Harry and Meghan will be invited on May 6 following allegations about the Royal Family in their Netflix documentary and the duke’s memoir.
The monarch is now said to have asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to broker a deal, ‘senior sources close to Lambeth Palace’ told the Daily Mail.
The Prince of Wales is understood to be concerned that his brother will use the event to stage a ‘stunt’ that would overshadow the event.
It’s claimed that one way he could do this is by ‘going on a walkabout in a deprived London borough’.
Harry apparently may be assured of a high-profile seating position in Westminster Abbey, or that he will be able to keep his titles, in order to persuade him to fly to England.
He has previously refused to say whether he would accept an invite, adding that he needs ‘accountability’ to ever have ‘peace’ with his relatives.
A source reportedly said: ’The family is split, and all the indications are that Harry is being advised to agree to nothing at this stage and “play it long” right up to the last minute, which is making negotiations with him very difficult.
‘Harry’s camp made clear that the idea that he would just attend the Coronation and behave himself but then be stripped of his titles was a total non-starter.
‘While he might decide at some point to discard his titles of his own volition, he objects to the idea of being forcibly stripped of them.
The ‘insider’ added that Harry resents being ‘lumped together’ with Prince Andrew amid the public perception of ‘the two problem princes’.
It comes nearly a year after the Duke of York reached an out-of-court settlement worth as much as £12 million with accuser Virginia Giuffre to avoid going to trial.
He was accused of sexually abusing the American woman three times when she was just 17, and while she was the victim of a trafficking ring orchestrated by billionaire paedophile Jeffry Epstein. Andrew has strongly denied all allegations.
In his new book, Harry claims William physically assaulted him in a row over Meghan.
He also alleges the palace plants negative stories about him and his wife in the media.
Discussing his father, he paints Charles as sometimes distant and says he didn’t hug him after telling him his mum, Princess Diana, had died.
Speaking of his step-mother Camilla, he claims his ‘interests were sacrificed on her PR altar’ as she tried to ‘rehabilitate her image’.
Buckingham Palace refused to comment on both Harry’s book and Netflix documentary.
Metro has contacted Buckingham Palace and a representative for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment.
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