King Charles gave a speech at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
King Charles III visited familiar grounds on Friday, when he attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for its 200th Sovereign's Parade.
The monarch took part in inspecting the nearly 200 cadets who were officially commissioned as Army Officers following an intense 44-week training. According to the British Army, Charles also presented the new colors for the academy, which "bore the new cypher of His Majesty the King." Their titles, however, won't be official until "the stroke of midnight during their commissioning ball."
Charles also addressed the cadets when he gave a speech, in which he recalled with pride his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, both of whom graduated from Sandhurst in 2006.
"And, speaking as a father of two alumni of this Academy who remembers their passing out parades, I know they will be full of immense pride in witnessing you on parade," he said.
Charles also recalled his own rigorous training some five decades ago.
"Having attended -- and survived! -- two of the other Military Academies 50 years ago, I think I have some idea of the challenges which are inherent in military training," he said. "I have experienced the nerves, the exhaustion -- even the self-doubt -- but, despite such recollections, it is the lifelong friendships which are forged through shared hardship, and the humor that you find in the darkest hours of the coldest, wettest nights, which remain with you."
The address at Sandhurst comes less than a month before Charles' coronation ceremony on May 6 in London. ET confirmed Harry will attend the ceremony. Meghan Markle, however, will not be joining him. She'll instead be staying at their home in Montecito, California, with the couple's two children, son Archie, who is turning 4 on the day of the coronation, and daughter Lilibet, 1.
The invite comes amid palpable tension since Harry and Meghan officially exited their roles as senior members of the royal family in 2020. That tension reached a fever pitch upon the release of Harry and Meghan's Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, in December, and the Duke of Sussex's bestselling memoir, Spare, which was released in January. Both projects were critical of the royal family and shared intimate details from the couple's perspective.
That being said, a source close to the royal family told ET that Charles still wanted Harry and the grandchildren at his coronation. Despite Harry attending the ceremony, don't expect him to mend his relationship with Charles or his brother.
"This event really is like a giant wedding. It's everyone you've ever met plus plenty of people you haven't, so Charles and William, they're gonna be pulled in a million different directions," royal expert Eloise Parker told ET. "It would be extraordinary to think they would have even a minute with Harry to even say hello, let alone heal the royal rift. So I think this is not going to be that time. Let's hope Harry or Charles or William can carve out some time once the dust has settled to really start making some inroads of their personal relationships."
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