…By Pelumi Emmanuel for TDPel Media.
Prince Harry made a brief trip to the United Kingdom to attend his father, King Charles’ coronation on Saturday, spending only 28 hours and 42 minutes in the country before heading back to California.
He left the Westminster Abbey ceremony and headed straight to Heathrow Airport, accompanied by a police escort, and was back in California before his father and stepmother, the newly crowned queen, had even finished taking their official portraits.
The purpose of his short visit was to be back in time for his son Archie’s fourth birthday party. However, it is doubtful he was able to make it back before his children’s bedtime, as his home in Montecito, California, is almost 100 miles away from Los Angeles, and the drive can take up to two hours due to unpredictable LA traffic.
According to the Daily Mail, Harry had no plans to participate in any coronation festivities apart from attending the Westminster Abbey ceremony.
There were no plans for him to join the procession, participate in the private family lunch, or appear in any official or unofficial photographs.
He left Frogmore Cottage, the Windsor home he and Meghan previously shared, on Saturday morning and arrived at Westminster Abbey with his non-working royal cousins, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and Zara Tindall.
After the ceremony, he left through the Great West Door and headed back straight to Heathrow, with police outriders accompanying him.
The short visit of Prince Harry was highly publicized, with the British public and the royal family kept on tenterhooks for months. However, he kept his appearance in the coronation brief, and his departure was quick, barely saying goodbye to his family.
It has been reported that his visit was overshadowed by his brother’s absence from the coronation, adding further fuel to the ongoing rumors of a rift between the two brothers.