King Charles and Queen Camilla are usually the picture of marital bliss, but the senior royals have never before had to star in a full-blown Historical Moment. With the long-awaited coronation finally happening on Saturday, and a certain controversial guest flying in from the US for it, insiders say tensions are ramping up inside the palace. Last week things took a turn, as royals publicly took sides over Prince Harry’s appearance at the momentous occasion, with Camilla’s friend and her son both jumping in to defend the Queen Consort. And now it seems the famously stoic royal has had enough of putting on a brave face, telling Charles she wants nothing more to do with his youngest son or Meghan Markle – especially not this weekend as she’s crowned Queen of Great Britain.

“Of course Camilla respects her husband’s authority as King,” says a palace insider close to the former Duchess of Cornwall, who married Charles, 74, in 2005 after first meeting at a polo game in 1970. “But she’s also so sick of him defending Harry. He and Meghan have sapped everybody’s energy levels for longer than she can remember and she’s had enough. She’s refusing to make nice with Harry when he’s in town and has made it clear she’s glad he’s planning on bolting straight back to America after a few hours of showing his face. Of course she’s not telling Charles to stop loving Harry, or even stop talking to him. She understands he wants to be a caring father, even after everything that’s happened, but she doesn’t agree with him getting invited to the coronation without apologising. It’s an extremely special and important day for her, as well as Charles, as she’s being crowned Queen – she feels like she should’ve had a say. She thinks all of this just feeds the Sussexes’ ego and she’s dreading seeing Harry.”

It follows new comments from Camilla’s son, Tom Parker-Bowles, who hit back at his step-brother, Harry, 38. In his recent memoir Spare the royal black sheep called Camilla “dangerous”, a “villain,” and claimed she had “played the long game” to become Queen. Last week food critic Tom – Camilla’s firstborn from her previous marriage to Andrew Parker-Bowles – insisted, “I don’t care what anyone says – this wasn’t any sort of end game. She married the person she loved and this is what happened.” Speaking on The News Agents Podcast, the 48-year-old added that his mother was “anxious” about her big day, adding that he would be “terrified” in her place. He also complimented Camilla’s attitude, explaining, “She’s 75, but… she’s never complained. You just do it. Get on with it.” His comments came after the Queen’s friend, Fiona Shelburne, AKA, Lady Lansdowne admitted how upsetting Harry’s book had been for Camilla. She explained, “Of course it bothers her, of course it hurts. But she doesn’t let it get to her. Her philosophy is always, ‘Don’t make a thing of it and it will settle down – least said, soonest mended”.

As Closer has previously reported in depth, the Duke of Sussex upset his dad’s wife – along with many other members of the royal family – with comments made in his Netflix docu-series, Harry & Meghan in December, followed closely by his bombshell tell-all, Spare. The former third-in-line wrote that he had “complex feelings about gaining a stepparent,” adding that he believed Camilla had leaked stories about him to the press, saying she had “sacrificed me on her personal PR altar.” Lady Lansdowne went on to pointedly say, “She is fiercely loyal to friends and that will be reflected in who goes to the big day. She wants to be loyal to the people who’ve stood by her… She’s not going to be pushed about. She won’t have a hissy fit, but she’ll say, ‘No, I want it done this way’.”

And it seems much of the family agree with Camilla about the Duke of Sussex – who finally confirmed he would be attending his father’s big day earlier this month. The palace revealed they were“pleased to confirm” Harry would be present for King Charles III’s coronation on Saturday 6 May, adding that the former Suits actress “will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet”, where she’ll be celebrating their son’s 4^th birthday. The coronation invite was said to be an olive branch from Charles, with another peace offering arriving in the form of official souvenir programmes, unveiled last week. Meghan and Harry both feature prominently, with two family portraits from five years ago included. It shows the couple – who married in 2018 – before they quit royal duties and moved to California in 2020, laughing alongside Charles, Camilla, William and wife Kate Middleton, along with their three children, Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven, and Prince Louis, five. None of which has gone down well with many senior royals. “Most of the family agree with Camilla about all this – especially Prince William,” says our source. They both believe Harry’s said and done too much to forgive and it makes them look weak to have him at the coronation. Camilla says the right decision would have been to banish Harry and Meghan from the event completely, sending the clear message that the Sussexes’ behaviour won’t be tolerated. She’s in total agreement with William and the majority of the Firm, who all feel that Harry hasn’t behaved well and needs to be taught a lesson for the greater good.”

But it seems Charles isn’t listening to the haters. We’re told, “Honestly, he’s thrilled to be welcoming Harry back in England for his coronation,” says the source. “He’s very upset about Camilla’s attitude and says her stance is disrespectful. He’s sick and tired of people questioning his decisions and trying to undermine him. He’s now putting his foot down, telling Camilla and everyone else that there’s no room for hostility or grudges this weekend. He needs everyone to respect his decision, put their resentments to one side, and remember that life’s too short. He’s so worried Harry will turn up and be ignored or told off by Camilla or the rest of the family. He knows his son would then return to America with an even bigger chip on his shoulder than ever. This coronation is crunch time for the family and might be their last chance to make amends. He’s hoping Camilla will understand, but it’s a big ask after everything Harry’s put her through…”