The coronation — as seemingly intended — was an expensive distraction for the royal family who has spent the last few years under intense public scrutiny. Between Prince Harry set on airing all out his familial drama, Prince Andrew’s sexual assault case, royal race rows, and racist brooches, it’s hard to deny that the King’s coronation has been, if nothing else, the royal family’s best attempt at a PR spin in a long while. Throughout the elaborate celebrations, they rebranded King Charles and Camilla’s infamous “three of us in this marriage” adultery scandal into a love story of the ages with Camilla now triumphant as Queen (to my Princess Diana-adoring aunties’ dismay). The spotlight had been ceremoniously shifted away from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as well as the couple’s infamous accusations of the royal family’s institutional racism and bigotry, and onto King Charles’ charity work with the Prince’s Trust, his commitment to the environment, his love of the arts and his “great dance moves”. Prince Harry attended Westminster Abbey alone, dressed in a plain suit, without Meghan Markle by his side as she remained in LA for their son Archie’s birthday. As the crowned King and Queen took to the balcony to wave at their subjects, Prince Harry was already back at the airport after a reported 28 hours in London.
