Much to the surprise of the highest-ranking royals and courtiers around him, King Charles has invited the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to his May 6 coronation.
It’s a stunning about-turn, given it was just revealed the King had kicked the couple out of their British home, Frogmore Cottage.
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Many insiders assumed this meant Prince Harry and Meghan were finally banished for good – until it was revealed that an email invitation to the historic event had landed in the couple’s inbox.
But others speculate the surprise move came because the King knows something everyone else doesn’t.
“Charles is so tired of the drama and Harry has threatened time and again that he has more revelations to come,” says a source. “If an invitation to Westminster Abbey for him and Meghan is enough to stop their games, then so be it.”
New Idea understands that deep in Harry’s arsenal is an issue that has long been a painful bone of contention for both himself and his father – rumours questioning whether or not Charles is truly his dad.
We’re told that Harry, 38, has always been bothered by the claims and at one point even thought about taking a DNA test to prove they’re biologically related once and for all.
“But while Harry is determined to put the rumours, which even Charles himself joked about when Harry was young mind you, to bed, he knows he doesn’t need a test to prove it,” adds the insider.
We’re told the prince’s realisation comes after he recalled in his memoir, Spare, that Charles would quip, “Who knows if I’m even your real father? Maybe your real father is in Broadmoor, darling boy.”
Harry writes, “He’d laugh and laugh, though it was a remarkably unfunny joke given the rumour circulating just then that my actual father was one of Mummy’s former lovers, Major James Hewitt.”
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Meanwhile, the King, 74, is said to be “all too aware” of the damage that would be done if his wayward son were to keep harping on about the jokes he made many years ago.
“After all, there’s already a bloke in Australia who insists he’s the love-child of the King and Camilla, for example,” says a source.
“There’s no doubt Charles is probably worried that Harry could make this part of his next Netflix special, but he knows that if he keeps the Sussexes close, they can avoid any further frenzies.”
For more, pick up the latest issue of New Idea!
