9 May, 2024

Sean Coughlan Royal Correspondent Welcome to this week’s Royal Watch. Prince Harry frequently divides opinion, as your emails show. He’s been back in the UK this week to celebrate the Invictus Games. But it was family drama - him not meeting his royal relatives - that made the headlines. ‌ The King and Queen got to see a beautiful record of their Coronation this week. Opponents of the monarchy were not so keen, though, holding a rally calling for an elected head of state. ‌ And thanks as ever for your interesting emails. There was plenty of support for Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh’s trip to Ukraine last week, as well as some criticism. Find out what readers had to say below.

Was the King too busy for his son? Prince Harry was back in the UK on Wednesday for the first time since February when he made a transatlantic dash to see his father after his cancer diagnosis. ‌ But this time he didn’t get to see the King.

King Charles attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. Credit: Getty There was no official comment from Buckingham Palace, but according to Prince Harry’s spokesman, the King was busy with engagements and had a full diary. ‌ Prince Harry travelled from the US to celebrate a decade of the Invictus Games, with a thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Prince Harry and the King were attending events a little over two miles apart. Credit: Getty But Prince William did not attend, and there were no signs of any royal get-together, at a time when the King is still receiving cancer treatment. ‌ It’s a visit that marks a great achievement. The Invictus Games has done so much to help injured and wounded service men and women in many countries.

The service took place in the church where Harry’s parents were married. Credit: Getty But it also raises questions about his family’s dynamics and complicated relationships. After such a long journey, Prince Harry didn’t get to spend five minutes together with his family in the UK. King has no time to see Harry on UK visit

Your Royal Watch Last week we asked whether royal trips - like Sophie’s visit to Ukraine - can make a difference. Most of you seem to think so. ‌ Another Sophie, this time a reader in South Africa, commends the Duchess of Edinburgh’s bravery for the Ukraine visit and says she thinks it’s “important for public figures to show that they have empathy” and to support countries facing such a “catastrophe”. ‌ Ilaria in Italy praises Sophie for backing Ukraine, but also likes how she is a “very positive and strong woman”. ‌ But there were questions about the cost of other royal visits. Patti complains about Canadian taxpayers having to fund a previous royal visit. “Pay your own way,” was her message. ‌ This week, let us know your views on whether the King and Prince Harry should have met when he was in the UK. ‌ Send us your thoughts via email.

Ancient tradition gets a modern twist History was literally unrolled for King Charles and Queen Camilla when they were shown the “Coronation roll”, the latest example of a tradition stretching back more than 700 years. ‌ This is the official record of every coronation, which is handwritten and then beautifully illustrated, before being put into the National Archive, along with previous rolls going back to the coronation of Edward II in 1308.

This Coronation roll includes intricate illustrations by artist Tim Noad. Credit: Getty It took the calligrapher Stephanie Gill 56 consecutive days of intense concentration to write the document. When stretched out like a historic roll of wallpaper, this account of last year’s Coronation was 21m (69ft) long. ‌ The King said it went “on for miles” and approved of the “marvellous illumination work”. Queen Camilla said she’d need her “specs” to read it.

The document does not mention celebrities who attended the ceremony. Credit: Getty An innovation for this Coronation roll was not to use any animal products like skin for the manuscript. ‌ There’s also a digital version to watch online at www.coronationroll.gov.uk.

The online version includes interviews with some Coronation attendees. Credit: Getty The King and Queen were also filmed watching themselves being crowned in the digital version of the Coronation. King enjoys historic record of Coronation

Down with the crown? There were also opponents of the monarchy who protested at last year's Coronation, calling instead for an elected head of state. ‌ This week, they held their own events around the anniversary, calling it Republic Day. ‌ The anti-monarchists gathered in Trafalgar Square and heard from speakers including leader of the Republic campaign group, Graham Smith.

Protesters claim the 4.5m dinosaur puppet they erected represents the soon-to-be-extinct monarchy. Credit: Getty Republic also organised events in Edinburgh and Cardiff. Opponents of the monarchy have become a more confident and vocal presence, and are increasingly part of the royal news story.

A piece of royal history On 6 May 1994, the then Queen and former President François Mitterrand formally opened the Channel Tunnel, which connected Folkestone in the UK with Calais in France for the first time. ‌ Queen Elizabeth II called the tunnel - which took several years and cost billions of pounds to build - one of the world's greatest technological achievements.