Harry yes, Meghan no: coronation plan fuels more speculation about royal rift

Even after the couple was formally invited by email one month ago, reply there came none, with the deadline reportedly passing last week and organisers said to be increasingly impatient.

As non-working royals, it has been reported that the Sussexes were not expected to play any formal part in the Westminster Abbey ceremony, including any appearance on the palace balcony, though the palace has not confirmed this.

Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales will play a prominent role as heir, and his son Prince George, nine, has a substantial role as one of the pages of honour to the king.

Negotiations might have faltered on where the Sussexes could expect to be seated, or whether they should be included in the carriage procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace after the ceremony.

The Waleses, the newly titled Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal and her husband, the Gloucesters and the Duke of Kent and his sister Princess Alexandra are understood to be part of that procession.

His inflammatory claims were seen as damaging his fragile relationship with his brother beyond repair, and as further troubling his dealings with the king and the rest of the family.