King Charles has 'more to lose than gain' if Prince Harry and Meghan miss Coronation

The Royal Family has something to gain from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's attendance at the Coronation of King Charles, a commentator believes. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will soon receive an invitation to the historic event, as previously revealed.

However, it is not yet known whether they will decide to travel back to England for the historic celebration, in particular following the decision by King Charles to take away from the Duke and Duchess their home in Windsor, Frogmore Cottage.

Reputation management expert Edward Coram-James believes Meghan and Harry's public image would be boosted if they attended the Coronation.

However, the Firm would also benefit from the presence at Westminster Abbey of the two former senior royals, he added.

The founder of Go Up told Express.co.uk: "There is something in it for the Royal Family as well. For the first time in British history, the British aristocracy has not been invited to the Coronation en masse, meaning that there will be much less pomp and pageantry, and far fewer people wearing robes than in the past.

"As such, a large part of the allure of the Coronation will be missing.

"Having a few extra royals, and senior ones at that, will help sure up the crowd and give viewers the scenes that they are hoping for.

"It is understood that King Charles, on a personal level, would like to reconcile with his son too.

"And, for this to be possible, it of course makes sense for the couple to attend."

As noted by Mr Coram-James, it has been widely claimed the upcoming Coronation won't have an 8,000-strong crowd in attendance.

READ MORE: Royal Family left 'appalled' by King's decision to evict Sussexes

Rather, the guest list is expected to count approximately 2,000 people, including politicians, charity officials, Commonwealth representatives and royals.

The streamlining of this Coronation is reportedly going to impact also the length of the service and some of its traditional elements.

Among the parts of the service reportedly being cut is the Dukes pledging their allegiance to the King - a manoeuvre which would not just help shorten the Coronation but would also avoid spotlighting the Dukes of Sussex and York who are no longer working members of the Firm.

Explaining why Harry and Meghan's reputation would be boosted if they returned to England in May, Mr Coram-James said: "The Sussexes will have to be nimble and find a way to quickly pivot away from the frenzy of the past few years in order to remain relevant in the public eye (which will be key to their success moving forward, albeit in a much more hands off way for a while)."

The expert referred to the string of criticism and allegations made by the Sussexes against the Firm and its members since their interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.

Speaking before it emerged King Charles asked Meghan and Harry in January to vacate Frogmore Cottage within months, the expert added: "To remain relevant, The Sussexes will have to be seen to remain royal. And, to be seen to remain royal, the Duke and Duchess will have to attend the Coronation."

He concluded: "I imagine Harry and Meghan will attend. On balance, when weighing up all of the varying interests of all of the various stakeholders, there is more to lose (for everyone) than gain by them not attending."

The distraction provided by the Sussexes' presence at Westminster Abbey on May 6, Mr Coram-James added, would be minor than that provoked by the looming "shadow of their omission".

Meghan and Harry are understood to have until the early summer before losing their residence in Windsor.

This deadline would allow them to be able to travel to the UK in early May to attend the Coronation before handing over the key to the Cottage, which had been their main residence for the most part of 2019 and has been used since by them as a base whenever they travelled to the UK.