Amidst the grandeur of his coronation festivities just a year ago, King Charles now seeks a more subdued approach for its anniversary.
Yesterday, he planned to commemorate the occasion quietly, surrounded by close friends at Windsor. It's understood that his majesty wishes to mark the day and his mother's mold with very little fuss, as his accession is so intrinsically bound with the sad loss of Queen Elizabeth. However, whether he'll meet with his youngest son, Prince Harry, during Harry's visit to London this week remains uncertain.
Buckingham Palace acknowledges the anniversary on social media, while there'll be military salutes in London: the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery fires a 41-gun Royal salute, with 71 horses pulling six First World War-era 13-pound field guns. Over at the Tower of London, The Honorable Artillery Company regiment fires a 62-gun Royal salute. There'll be further tributes in Edinburgh, Cardiff, York, Hillsboro, and Northern Ireland, but there'll be little in the way of family celebrations, particularly from the King himself, who will more than likely simply enjoy a private dinner.
Charles returned to London today, having been given doctors' permission to undertake more public engagements again while he continues cancer treatment. It was claimed at the weekend that Prince William is concerned that his father's taking on too much. Prince Harry is likely to fly into the capital today ahead of a service at St Paul's Cathedral to mark the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games on Wednesday afternoon. However, The Mail understands that reports he plans to use the trip to meet with his father again are a little premature, with nothing in the diary yet.
Today is also Archie's birthday; Archie is 5. He's old enough to be conscious of his birthday and whether his parents are there or not. For the King's coronation, he had to rush home, but this year it doesn't matter. That boy is going to have a great deal to be angry with his father about, using his son as a reason to miss out on celebrating the biggest moment of his own father's life and then dumping him. This year is just terrible.
Harry wants to meet King Charles for the pictures, the story, and the clicks to continue the royal narrative. He should get some tough love back. What would they talk about if Harry hasn't reached out for a meeting? Then divorce is not on the horizon yet; the only reason Harry would meet his family would be to ask for the only help they'd probably be willing to give: to get out of the marriage.
