Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were not invited to King Charles’s 75th birthday party, the Sussexes have claimed in the wake of reports that the duke has snubbed the milestone celebration.
King Charles is set to hold a lavish party for his landmark 75th birthday at London’s Clarence House on Tuesday 14 November.
Reports previously claimed that Harry had snubbed an invite to the soiree from the King, opting to stay in California instead, but now a spokesperson for the Sussexes has said otherwise.
A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex, 39, said the couple had “no contact” from Buckingham Palace about the planned party at Clarence House on 14 November, after it was reported Harry had turned down an invite to the family gathering.
“In response to UK media headlines, there has been no contact regarding an invitation to His Majesty’s upcoming birthday,” the duke’s representatives told The Independent, adding that any reports which suggested otherwise were “disappointing”.
The palace “never reached out” to the couple with an invitation to the party in honour of King Charles, said the report, citing a “source with knowledge of the situation”.
Reports previously claimed that Harry had snubbed an invite to the soiree from the King— (Photo Image Press/Shutterstock)
The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
Prince Harry’s last visit to the UK was in September, when he travelled to London to attend the WellChild Awards ceremony before flying to Düsseldorf, Germany for the Invictus Games.
At the time, it was reported that the duke had been asked to give Buckingham Palace advance notice if he wished to stay at any of the royal residences, adding that Windsor Castle had been unable to accept Harry’s request for accommodation for the duration of his London visit.
Instead, palace officials extended an invite for Harry to join his estranged father at Balmoral Castle, the late Queen’s Scottish summer residence, with the duke ultimately unable to accept the offer due to scheduling conflicts, The Telegraph reported.
Neither Buckingham Palace nor representatives for the duke returned requests for comment from The Independent.
Shortly after, the royal family failed to wish Prince Harry on the occasion of his 39th birthday as the official Twitter and Instagram accounts for King Charles and Queen Camilla, as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales, did not share any birthday wishes for him on 15 September.
Meanwhile, he and Meghan, who reunited with Harry in Germany for the Paralympics-style tournament for wounded veterans, celebrated the duke’s birthday with a hearty, family-style German meal before Harry cut his birthday cake at a popular, local restaurant.
King Charles is set to hold a lavish party for his landmark 75th birthday at London’s Clarence House on Tuesday 14 November— (PA)
Harry and Meghan’s relationship with the royal family has become increasingly strained since the couple resigned as senior members of The Firm, before relocating to Montecito, California, with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, in 2020.
Tensions were heightened after the duke and duchess’ bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey was aired, during which they made a number of claims regarding their treatment within the family.
Subsequent bombshell revelations made in their two-part Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, including claims that the palace officials leaked stories about the couple to the British press, and in Prince Harry’s memoir Spare further widened the rift.
On Monday, a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan, 42, also reportedly denied recurring reports that the Suits star was planning to revive her acting career.
The rumour mill resumed churning in September when Meghan’s Suits co-star Patrick J Adams shared a series of since-deleted photographs, many of which featured duchess, on Instagram and captioned his post: “I miss my friends”.
These posts reportedly triggered fan speculation that a reunion of the hit legal drama could be in the offing, with several people wondering whether Meghan was planning to make a comeback to acting, in the comments section.
However, when Variety reported in April that Meghan had signed with renowned talent agency William Morris Entertainment (WME) – which also manages Serena Williams, Sir Patrick Stewart, and Helena Bonham Carter, the publication clarified that “acting will not be a focus” of the duchess’ management deal with the company.
