THE “real reason” why Meghan Markle and Prince Harry took so long to RSVP to King Charles’ coronation has been revealed.
The couple's attendance had been up in the air for months since they made a series of shocking unsubstantiated claims about the Royal Family.
On March 4, it was revealed they'd made the cut, after Harry received an email from his dad's office.
But the RSVP deadline of April 3 passed without the pair confirming their attendance with the Palace.
However, on Monday, it was confirmed that the Duke of Sussex will come alone, while Meghan and the kids stay at home in the US.
Now sources have claimed the reason it took the couple so long is because Harry was “preoccupied” by where he would have to sit.
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They told MailOnline: “side was keen to find out, presumably because they wanted to rubber-stamp it, what the seating plan at the Abbey is.
“There's been extensive back and forth about who they [Harry and Meghan] would be sitting behind if they came. And who would be behind them.”
Another source added: “This is true. There has been a lot of questions on detail for the Abbey.”
At the late Queen's funeral while Kate Middleton, Prince William, and other royals sat in the front row, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sat in the corner of the second row.
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Similarly, at the Queen's Jubilee, Harry and Meghan sat in the second row, behind the Wessex family and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
It comes after it was revealed that Sarah Ferguson has not been invited to the King’s Coronation despite stay-away Meghan leaving a spare seat in the Abbey.
The Duchess of York, 63, is expected to watch the event on TV at Royal Lodge, which she shares with disgraced ex Prince Andrew.
Royal author Phil Dampier said: “She cannot expect to be at the top of the royal pecking order.”
The Sun understands Fergie has been told she is not among the 2,000 guests despite knowing Charles since childhood.
Harry and Andrew will both attend the Coronation though neither will have a formal role.
The King and Queen Camilla will arrive at the coronation in a smooth, modern horse-drawn coach - then return to the Palace in a 1762 bone-shaker.
They will go from the Diamond Jubilee coach, with comfy seats and shock absorbers, to the Gold State Coach, whose ride was described by Queen Victoria as “distressing”.
They will be followed by a "final group of 15" who will represent the "heartbeat and future of [the] family", according to reports.
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William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales, will be on the balcony alongside their three children - Prince George, nine, Princess Charlotte, seven and Prince Louis, four.
The Sun has contacted Buckingham Palace and the Sussexes for comment.