Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s attendance at King Charles III’s coronation could hold a hidden benefit for the royals if the couple gets booed again, according to their fans.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are disliked by around two-thirds of Britain, according to a recent poll, and were booed at the Platinum Jubilee in June. There is, therefore, a solid chance that royalists gathered at Westminster Abbey in May could choose to vocally express their feelings about Harry and Meghan’s repeated criticism of the monarchy.
They may not be the only ones, however, since the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic has indicated that it plans to protest the historic ceremony. Now, fans of Harry and Meghan on TikTok have speculated that the Sussexes’ attendance at the Abbey could help distract attention away from the protests against Charles.
A video of Charles and Queen Camilla getting booed during a recent visit to Colchester, in Essex, England, on March 7 has gone viral on TikTok, gaining nearly 500,000 views and 53,000 likes at the time of writing. The incident itself got little coverage in the media, though it was reported on by The Daily Mail.
The video was captioned: “King & Camila getting booed AGAIN! This is why they want M&H at the Coronation. To blame the booing ON MEGHAN. Mainstream media is NOT REPORTING this BUT if M was there HEADLINES!”
It is not possible to say definitely why Harry and Meghan were invited to the coronation and there are many speculative explanations, including that not inviting them might have made the monarchy look petty and vindictive. The couple has yet to confirm that they are attending the event, which will be held on their son, Archie’s fourth birthday.
However, whether the palace considered it or not, Harry and Meghan getting booed might offer a distraction from protests that Republic has indicated it is going to stage on the day of the coronation.
While there was some mainstream media coverage of the booing in Colchester, it was certainly not as prominent as the boos for Harry and Meghan when they attended a Platinum Jubilee service at St Paul’s Cathedral, on June 3.
The incident sparked widespread coverage not only among the British tabloids Harry has taken a swipe at but also with United States-based media including BuzzFeed, Page Six other forbes.
In other words, while inviting Harry and Meghan may risk overshadowing the coronation, they may also provide a lightning rod for the British love for debating royalty, and in that respect, they could actually offer the king some protection.
Some may see conspiracy in the difference in media coverage for Harry and Meghan’s boos compared to Charles’ though there may also be another factor which is simply that the Sussexes, while divisive, generate more traffic and capture more attention from both fans and critics alike.
The coronation, however, will be King Charles’ day, meaning different rules may apply. Either way, Republic protesters calling for an end to the monarchy may find themselves competing with Harry and Meghan detractors for mainstream media and social media air time to share their message.
Jack Royston is the chief royal correspondent at Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s attendance at King Charles III’s coronation could hold a hidden benefit for the royals if the couple gets booed again, according to their fans.
