The late Queen would have been “sad” that son Prince Andrew and grandson Prince Harry did not appear during Saturday’s iconic balcony moment, a former royal butler said

Queen Elizabeth II would have wanted Prince Andrew and Prince Harry on the Buckingham Palace balcony following King Charles’ Coronation, a royal expert claimed.

Former royal butler Grant Harrold said the late Queen would have been “sad” that her son and grandson did not appear during the iconic balcony moment because she was “all about family”.

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla were officially crowned at Westminster Abbey on Saturday – with thousands of people lining the streets of London to take in the spectacle, as millions more watched on at home.

Following the historic service, the King and Queen Consort proceeded through the capital in the Gold State Coach and returned to Buckingham Palace for their iconic balcony moment.

The late Queen Elizabeth II would have wanted Prince Andrew and Prince Harry on the Buckingham Palace balcony following King Charles’ Coronation, a former royal butler said (Image: Max Mumby/Indigo)

Charles and Camilla were joined on the balcony by other members of the Royal Family – including Prince William and Kate Middleton. However, Prince Andrew and Prince Harry were not present for the moment.

Relations between the Duke of Sussex, 38, and the Royal Family have been strained following the publication of Harry’s book Spare. Meanwhile, the Duke of York, 63, remains banned from royal duties following the fallout from his connections to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Former butler Grant, who worked for the King for seven years as part of his Royal household, said that the late Queen would have been “very proud” of how her son Charles handled the momentous Coronation occasion.

However, speaking to Oddspedia, he added: “I think the sad part from her point of view would have been not having Harry and Andrew on the balcony, but as non-working members of the Royal Family, that would have been a given. The only thing I would say to that, and I’m a big supporter of the Royal Family, is that it would have been nice for Harry to be there.”

Former Royal butler Grant Harrold (Image: ITV)
He added: “I think with the Queen, she was all about family and she would have wanted to have seen them there.”

Grant went on to say that it was a “shame” that Harry did not wear a military uniform for the occasion.

He said: “I don’t know who makes that decision, whether it was the King’s decision or the household’s or Harry’s, but I wondered what the Queen would make of that. She was very proud of her family and their military backgrounds.”

He concluded: “As far as the King and Queen go, however, and the whole service, I think she would have been over the moon.”

Prince Harry did attend the Coronation ceremony but left swiftly after it to catch a flight back to the US (Image: Getty)
Buckingham Palace confirmed on Saturday that Harry would have “no formal role” at the historic ceremony that saw his father King Charles officially crowned.

The Duke did attend the service, taking a seat in the third row with his cousins Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, but he left Westminster Abbey swiftly after it to catch a flight back to the US.

His wife Meghan Markle, meanwhile, skipped the ceremony and remained at their home in Montecito, California with their children Lilibet, one, and Archie, who turned four on Saturday.

And, according to Sky News, Harry’s representatives were understood to be keen to spell out on Tuesday that when the palace said Harry had “no formal role” during the Coronation, it meant he was not invited to appear on the balcony.