King Charles has made his first public appearance after Buckingham Palace confirmed that his youngest son, Prince Harry, would attend his coronation on May 6th. The monarch was present at the 200th Royal Military Academy Sandhurst’s Sovereign’s Parade, where he inspected the parade and presented new Colours and Sovereign’s Banner to the receiving Ensigns.
The Parade marks the completion of 44 weeks of intensive training for the Officer Cadets, who will all hold His Majesty’s Commission as of midnight on the day of the parade. In his address, King Charles expressed his pride in the cadets’ achievements and highlighted the importance of the lifelong friendships forged through shared hardship.
The late Queen Elizabeth II attended the Sovereign’s parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst twice in 2006 to see her grandsons Prince William and Prince Harry graduate. It was a significant event for the royal family, and Charles’s appearance at this year’s parade was equally significant, as it was his first public appearance since the confirmation of Prince Harry’s attendance at his coronation.
Prince Harry will be attending the coronation ceremony, while his wife Meghan Markle and their children will remain in California. The decision was made as Archie’s fourth birthday coincides with his grandfather’s coronation. Prince George, Charles’s eldest grandchild, has also been given a starring role at the ceremony.
It will be the first time that Prince Harry has reunited with his family since the late Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral last September. Prince Harry has spoken widely about his fraught relationship with the royals, including in his and Meghan’s Netflix docuseries and his memoir, Spare, which was published in January. In the memoir, he wrote about his fallout with Prince William, although their fraternal discord pales into insignificance compared with these six nasty royal brother fallouts from British history.
King Charles’s attendance at the parade demonstrates his commitment to carrying out his royal duties despite the family’s well-publicized struggles. His presence was warmly received by the public, and it is hoped that his coronation ceremony will be a unifying event for the family and the nation.
