Following the release of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s Netflix docuseries, the spotlight has been on the Sussexes and their relationship with the royal family.
The last time they were all together was in September following Queen Elizabeth II’s death. While the Sussexes attended most of the services for the late monarch with the rest of the royals, there was one event they reportedly refused to go to because they were angry about being excluded from a high-profile affair.
Prince Harry and Meghan took part in events leading up to the queen’s funeral
Prior to the funeral service on Sept. 19, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined the procession for Queen Elizabeth’s lying-in-state with the rest of Harry’s family.
The prince also took part in a vigil with his brother and cousins. King Charles III permitted his youngest son to wear his Blues and Royals No. 1 dress uniform for the vigil around the queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall.
When it came to the actual funeral though, Harry was in civilian dress wearing a black suit jacket and gray pinstriped trousers as he walked in the procession behind the queen’s coffin. Moreover, he and his uncle, Prince Andrew, were both unable to take part in a salute to the monarch’s casket during the official burial ceremony since they are non-working royals now. Harry and the Duke of York did not salute Britain’s war memorial, the Cenotaph, either.
Why the Sussexes ‘snubbed’ the royals before one of the last family gatherings
There were also a few occasions during the mourning period that were not public and one was a reception at Buckingham Palace for several heads of state, diplomats, and royal families including U.S. President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, as well as King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan.
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As Express noted, there was some confusion about that event because it was reported that Meghan and Harry received an invite despite not being full-time working members of the Firm. Palace officials called it a mixup and then “uninvited” the Sussexes which was said to have left the pair fuming.
In The Sunday Times, royal editor Roya Nikkhah wrote: “Harry and Meghan snubbed the final family gathering on the eve of the queen’s burial, choosing not to attend a funeral briefing for the royal family at Buckingham Palace because of their frustration of having their invitation rescinded to a reception that evening for visiting heads of state and overseas guests.”
The duke and duchess left the U.K. hours after Queen Elizabeth’s service
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Within hours of the queen’s funeral and committal service on Sept. 19, the Sussexes flew back to California. While some attributed their quick departure to the rift with the rest of the royal family, others pointed out that they had been away from their children for a long time. When they initially left Montecito it was only supposed to be for a few days but of course that changed with the queen’s death and they ended up staying in England for two weeks.
According to Us Weekly: The couple left soon after the queen’s funeral to be reunited with Archie and Lilibet who they were “separated [from] for over two weeks. [It’s] the longest amount of time they’ve been apart from their children. [They] missed the kids like crazy.”
