With just hours left to go until the formal coronation of King Charles III, a royal expert has predicted that Prince Harry “won’t burn the final bridge” with his cousins Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice at the high profile event, after they were spotted meeting with one of his most outspoken critics last week.
Tensions between Prince Harry and his father the King have been at an all-time high in recent months, but the estranged son had finally accepted an olive branch and agreed to attend the ceremony on Saturday.
Yet while Harry’s relationship with his father appears to be on the mend, his previously close bond with cousins Eugenie and Beatrice recently hit the rocks, after they were spotted meeting with TV host Piers Morgan, who famously lost his job at ITV after refusing to apologise for comments made about Harry’s wife Meghan Markle.
The two princesses met up with Piers and other pals, including chart-topping singer James Blunt, at The Princess Royal pub in London’s Notting Hill, and were seen laughing and joking with the presenter as they left the venue.
Understandably, Prince Harry was less than impressed by the development, with a source close to the couple telling OK!: “After everything Piers has said about them as a couple – especially Meghan, who he’s called so many names – Harry and Meghan are astonished that they’ve gone behind their backs.”
However, neither Eugenie not Beatrice are convinced they have done anything wrong and were simply keen to get to know Piers, as they would like to be grilled by the star about their lives.
They were so eager to work with him in fact, that the sisters even reached out to the King in order to ask for his blessing ahead of agreeing to anything.
Seeing the situation as somewhat of a betrayal, many fans were curious how Harry would interact with them at Saturday’s coronation, but royal expert Tessa Dunlop has rebuffed any fears as she revealed she thinks Harry “will smile” and look beyond it.
Giving her insight into the situation from the perfective of Eugenie and Beatrice, she explained to OK! how keeping a global star like Piers Morgan on side was a necessary cross to bear.
“ Knowing Piers, he’s a massive royalist, love him or loathe him he’s one of the very few presenters with a global reach, so people overseas know who Piers Morgan is,” explained Tessa.
“I think Eugenie and Beatrice who have been somewhat overshadowed by the saga that accompanied their father, probably recognise that they can't afford to alienate people like Piers Morgan.
“So I don't blame them, if they're in chats or at least being polite or if they were seen hanging out alongside Piers Morgan, I don’t believe they can’t be friends with Harry.”
Touching on how they had both grown up being dogged by their parents scandals in the press, Tessa also explained how they may have been hoping to use the press to their advantage and control a narrative.
“They’re realists, they also use the press, they also understand about platforms, they're not born yesterday, it’s not like Eugenie and Beatrice were slagging Harry off to Piers,” she added.
“I understand why the girls are doing it because I think they're in a difficult position and actually they behave in a very discreet impressive fashion given all the nonsense that they've had to put up with for both their father and their mother and in the way in which it has been cast into part of the royal family narrative in the press, they’ve just kept their heads down.”
The royal expert then turned her attention towards Harry and how he might be feeling, as she shared her predictions for how he might react at the upcoming Coronation.
“Harry is probably a bit disappointed but I’m sure he’s not that thin skinned, you can't control your cousins or friends contact list,” she added.
Harry has always shared a close relationship with his cousin Eugenie and her husband Jack, with Tessa even revealing that Eugenie is the person who has had “the most contact with Harry”.
With this in mind, she doubts he’ll end their friendship over something so trivial.
“I don’t think he’ll burn that final bridge with Eugenie and Beatrice”, she said.
For the Coronation in particular, Tessa also took great pains to highlight just how well versed in etiquette the royal family are, with very little chance of any kind of public disagreement happening on a world stage.
“The royal family are really good, trained from birth for keeping up appearances,” she began.
“ I think if they’re in the same pew at the Coronation you won’t know it’s not ok, there will be pleasantries, head nods, small smiles, discreet handshakes, what they've been trained to do from birth.”
“I don’t think it will be cold in anyway, you can’t underestimate the impact of being in front of the cameras from birth, which is effectively what they've had to tolerate, had to put up with, they know what these gigs involve.”
Royal protocol aside, there was also a strong family element to consider, as Tessa explained spending time with a cousin could also harken back to a simpler and more nostalgic time.
She said: “Normally when you see your cousin, even if they're a bit annoying, or they've let you down you feel a warmth, they take you back to your childhood. I think Harry will smile”
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