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Prince Harry could be set to miss a very important occasion for his father, King Charles III, as the new monarch prepares to undertake his first Trooping the Colour celebrations as sovereign on June 17.
Reports from London suggest that Harry hasn't been extended an invitation to the annual event, which marks the king's official birthday with all the pomp and circumstance the British military can muster, including an aerial flypast over London with members of the royal family gathered on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
This year, King Charles has announced that celebrations will take on more historical significance as he will ride from the palace to Horse Guards Parade on horseback. This will be the first time the monarch has done so since Queen Elizabeth II gave up riding at official ceremonies in 1986.
On Saturday, the Daily Mail's Richard Eden wrote: "I hear that Prince Harry and Meghan have not [...] been invited to the King's Birthday Parade next weekend."
"It will be the first time in Harry's life that he has not been welcome at the monarch's official birthday celebrations."
If Harry hasn't received an invite from his father, it would signal the strained state of relationships within the royal family following the publication of the prince's memoir, the release of his Netflix show and allegations leveled in his multiple lawsuits against the royal family, the institution of the monarchy and the British press.
The last time Harry and Meghan attended Trooping the Colour as working royals was in 2019. In 2020, the event was canceled owing to the COVID pandemic, and in 2021 it was scaled down to a smaller event at Windsor Castle with limited spectators in keeping with the British government's social-distancing measures.
In 2022, Harry and Meghan attended their first Trooping the Colour as non-working royals. The year's event formed the start of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, but in their new capacities, the royal couple were not permitted to watch the Royal Air Force flypast from the palace balcony, as Harry had done in all the previous years he attended.
The last royal event Harry attended was his father's coronation in May, however, again as a non-working royal he was not included in the ceremonial aspects for working royals such as the carriage procession and balcony appearance. Harry attended the ceremony alone, with Buckingham Palace announcing beforehand that Meghan had decided to stay in California with the couple's children.
The prince was last in Britain earlier this month, as he attended the legal trial connected with his phone hacking lawsuit against tabloid publisher Mirror Group Newspapers. Harry became the first senior royal in over 130 years to give evidence in the witness box.
"There is a very deep rift in the royal family and I would not have expected the Sussexes to receive an invitation," royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Newsweek of Harry's potential royal snub for Trooping the Colour, suggesting that this could be a sign of things to come.
"They did indeed receive one for the Trooping during the celebrations of the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee, but that occasion was obviously exceptional."
"It has been increasingly clear that they have, in the view of the Palace, gone rogue," he continued. "The publication of Spare [the prince's memoir] and the interviews around it, the Netflix docuseries and the various court cases Harry is involved in, all are evidence of the Sussexes high international profile, but this has also highlighted their estrangement from the royal family."
At the time of his memoir's publication in January 2023, the prince gave interviewers an insight into the breakdown in relations between himself and his U.K.-based family.
Speaking to CBS' Anderson Cooper he said he was not currently speaking to William or Charles, though added that in future: "I look forward to having a relationship with my brother. I look forward to having a relationship with my father and other members of my family."
Despite this, Fitzwilliams noted that there are roadblocks concerning Harry that could prevent a royal rapprochement, including further legal trials, which could yield more unflattering revelations about his family members, and future interviews, documentaries and books that could be on the horizon. This could see Harry and Meghan absent at more important milestone royal events in years to come.
"The Sussexes know the palace is not able to do a point by point reply to accusations made against it, without giving further publicity to them," he said. "It is therefore no surprise that Trooping the Colour will take place without them and this is also likely to be the case in future years, unless a reconciliation occurs, which at the moment seems most unlikely."
Newsweek approached Buckingham Palace and representatives of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle via email for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more