Harry and Meghan have not been invited to King's birthday

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during Trooping The Colour 2018 on June 9, 2018 in London, England.

(Image credit: Getty)

published 7 November 2023

It's no secret that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have had a less than ideal relationship with their UK-based royal counterparts since their departure from royal life in 2020.

But if you want an idea of just how bad things seem to have got of late, the rumour mill has it that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not invited to King Charles' upcoming 75th birthday celebration.

One report comes in response to a Sunday Times article published over the weekend, which stated that the couple had been invited to the King's birthday party at Clarence House in London on 14 November, but that they had declined.

Now, a spokesperson for Harry is claiming that the Sussexes had not in fact heard anything whatsoever about a birthday party for the King.

"In response to UK media headlines, there has been no contact regarding an invitation to His Majesty’s upcoming birthday," the spokesperson told the Messenger. "It is disappointing the Sunday Times has misreported this story."

A source close to the Sussexes told the media: "The story is being positioned in a way to make it look like the Duke is snubbing his father, which he is not" (via Express).

This comes just weeks after reports first surfaced that the Sussexes were unlikely to show up for the royal Christmas celebrations at Sandringham, and following their no-show at Balmoral Castle over the summer as well.

Though Harry did end up attending his father's Coronation in May, Meghan sat that one out. The last time both Sussexes attended an official royal event was in September, when they took part in Queen Elizabeth's funeral processions.

All in all, Harry and Meghan's relationship with the royals is dire right now by all accounts.

For example, in September, royal expert Duncan Larcombe commented: "Some of what Harry and Meghan have said, particularly about Kate, was so personal, and it's going to take years to heal the hurt because of the damage that's been done.

"It's going to take more than an apology to fix the relationships."

Oh dear.

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Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.

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