Princess Anne's 'Decent-Sized' Hat That Obscured Prince Harry's Face During Coronation Was Not Her Choice: Book

Princess Anne raised concern over her headpiece during King Charles' coronation, according to a new book.

The Princess Royal and her hat with a red feather made global headlines during King Charles' coronation because it somehow obscured Prince Harry's face, as the latter was seated behind her. According to Robert Hardman, a British journalist, author and documentary filmmaker, in his new book "Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story," it wasn't Princess Anne's choice to wear the much-talked headpiece.

"'The hat was an interesting question,' the Princess recalled later. 'I said: 'Are you sure you want me to keep the hat on? Because it's quite a decent-sized hat.' And the answer was yes. There you go. Not my choice,'" Princess Anne said of the headpiece in Hardman's new book, The Telegraph reported. 

Obscuring Prince Harry's view was seemingly not intentional because the royal princess did not just raise a concern about her hat, but she was also not meant to sit in front of the Duke of Sussex. She had requested to change the seating arrangement for a "speedy exit." 

"At the Coronation itself, Prince Harry was seated in the third row of the royal section, immediately behind Princess Anne, who was wearing a striking red-plumed bicorn hat that remained on her head throughout," Hardman explained.

"Social media snipers instantly concluded that Harry had been deliberately placed behind his aunt's tall hat to obscure his view. This is nonsense. Not only do the Lord Chamberlain's Office not think like that, but the Princess Royal had only switched to that seat after her request for a speedy exit." 

Prince Harry attended his father's coronation on May 6, 2023 alone. He flew to the United Kingdom sans his wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children, Archie, 4, and Lilibet, 2. He also left his home country shortly after the coronation to catch up on his son's birthday celebration in California.

Many believe that Prince Harry wants to reconcile with his family. Among them is royal commentator Kinsey Schofield, host of the royal podcast "To Di for Daily," who claimed that the Duke of Sussex wanted to "mend fences" with his family. 

Prince Harry's biographer, Angela Levin, previously said that if he wanted to, he should spend more time with them in Britain whenever he would visit them.

"But you know, if you want to bring back a family, you have to spend time. He can't rush here and stay for half an hour, then rush away. It takes weeks, months even," Levin said.