King Charles is in an “impossible position” with Prince Harry and Prince Andrew threatening to “besmirch” the Coronation if they attend the historic ceremony, a royal expert has claimed. Nigel Cawthorne – author of Prince Andrew, Maxwell and the Palace – said the monarchy is “looking a bit threadbare”.

Buckingham Palace staff have reportedly been told to plan for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attending the King’s Coronation, but this has yet to be confirmed publicly.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, who have begun using the titles prince and princess for their children in an “alignment” with the Palace on the matter, have yet to confirm whether they will attend the ceremony on May 6.

There are also doubts over the role Prince Andrew can play at the Coronation, given he is no longer a working member of the Royal Family.

It comes after the Duke of York settled a US civil lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre, who had accused Andrew of sexually abusing when she was a teenager. Andrew repeatedly denied the allegation and did not admit any wrongdoing in settling the case.

But the court case as well as Harry and Meghan’s allegations against the royal family in their Netflix series and the Duke of Sussex’s memoir, Spare, have put the King in a difficult position in relation to the Coronation.

Mr Cawthorne said: “There is a battle royal going on here. It’s tit for tat. Certainly tat. With the flawless Queen gone, the monarchy is looking a bit threadbare.

“Charles is in an impossible position. If either Andrew or Harry, or both, turn up, they are going to besmirch the Coronation and take the spotlight away from him.

“Their absence will be equally headline-grabbing and will diminish the significance of the ceremony.”

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Mr Cawthorne described the Coronation as the key moment in the monarchy, but claimed the “top royals can’t be bothered to turn up”.

He added: “Imagine a wedding or funeral where a brother or son is a no-show. It speaks volumes.

“Neither Andrew nor Harry can do any right. If Andrew is not there, drawing the attention of the TV cameras and media commentators, he will be photographed driving around in a flash car or horse-riding in Windsor Great Park, or otherwise moaning about being demoted by moving into a tiny, five-bedroom cottage or leaking that he is going to spend millions of pounds which he, apparently, does not have, on trying to clear his name in a pointless legal battle against Virginia Giuffre.”

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Mr Cawthorne added: “Harry’s on the horns of a dilemma too. How unpopular does he want to be? Every time he opens his mouth he plummets in the opinion polls.

“He’s the Royal Family’s Eddie the Eagle. If he turns up, he risks having rotten tomatoes thrown at him.

“If he stays away, he’s turning his back on [royalty]. Only, by the way, my son and daughter are a prince and princess.”

Harry and Meghan’s relationship with the King and the Prince of Wales has remained troubled in the wake of the publication of the Duke’s controversial tell-all memoir.

The Duke of Sussex has criticised Charles’s parenting skills, accused Prince William of physically attacking him and branded Camilla, Queen Consort, “dangerous”.

The latest YouGov poll shows 43 percent of the 3,024 adults surveyed saying Harry and Meghan should be invited to the Coronation, with 39 percent opposing.

YouGov found just a quarter of Britons (24 percent) think positively of Harry, while 68 percent have a negative opinion of him, giving him his lowest ever favourability rating of -44.

Harry and Meghan are now so disliked by older Britons that their popularity ratings are worse than Andrew’s among the over-65s, according to YouGov.

While 60 percent of the oldest generation have a “very” negative view of Andrew, this rises to 69 percent for Meghan and 73 percent for Harry, the poll shows.

It is understood there is no update from the Sussex camp over whether they will attend the crowning of Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort.

A spokesperson for the Sussexes has previously said Harry and Meghan received email correspondence from the King’s office about the event, but an immediate decision on their attendance would not yet be disclosed.

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