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Sooo, Do The Sussexes Have a Deadline to Accept Their Coronation Invite? An Expert Weighs In

Sooo, Do The Sussexes Have a Deadline to Accept Their Coronation Invite? An Expert Weighs In

Update on the ongoing question of whether or not Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are attending King Charles' coronation! Despite rumors that the couple had been given a deadline to tell the palace about their plans, apparently they aren't facing pressure to make a decision anytime soon.

According to expert Dr. George Gross, the couple have "plenty of time" before they need to confirm their plans, telling The Express "In a bygone era, if we're going back to the Tudors and the Stewards, if you received a summons to the Coronation, attendance wasn't optional, you couldn't say 'I'm not free', you'd attend. But obviously in the 20th and 21st century, things have been different. Given that we don't really know that all the formal invitations have gone out yet, I think they've still got plenty of time. Given that they've got the royal box, in a sense, there's flexibility on this one."

Pssst: the royal box is where members of the royal family sit, and apparently they always reserve space for members of the King's family.

queen elizabeth ii platinum jubilee 2022 national service of thanksgiving
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"The other reason that there's always a little bit of flexibility is people never know for sure if they will attend with things like health and so on," Dr. Gross continued. "They're always last minute [cancellations], it's the same as planning any great event or even, if we take it back to the ordinary person, if you try planning a party and somebody changes their mind last minute, there's always some flexibility, and there are always cancellations, and they're always last minute attendees. So there's always a little bit of room. Because of the royal box, I think you've got more flexibility."

Despite seemingly endless speculation about why Harry and Meghan haven't confirmed their coronation plans, just FYI that they've only been sitting on their invite for a few weeks! The couples' spokesperson released a statement on March 5 saying "I can confirm The Duke has recently received email correspondence from His Majesty's office regarding the coronation." And they even made it clear they were taking a moment to think things through, saying "An immediate decision on whether The Duke and Duchess will attend will not be disclosed by us at this time."

So...stay tuned?

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