Harry and Meghan ‘will not be joining the royal family at Balmoral to celebrate a year since the Queen’s death – despite being in Germany the next day to kick off the Invictus Games,’ sources claim

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not expected to attend the royal family’s commemorations at Balmoral to mark a year since the late Queen’s death, it was reported last night.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are expected to celebrate the poignant one-year anniversary on September 8 at the Scottish estate, surrounded by family, including Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex received no outreach from senior royals despite their scheduled appearance in Düsseldorf, Germany the day after the memorial, where they will kick off the Invictus Games, sources say. An insider told the Sun, “If they’re not included in any of those plans, they’ll find a way to mark the meaning in their own way.”

Charles and Harry’s relationship is said to still be off after the Duke launched a series of attacks on the royal family with his bombshell memoir Spare and a flurry of media interviews to promote the book.

It is believed that there is no contact between Prince William and his brother and that a reconciliation does not appear to be in the offing anytime soon.

“You can tell the room where things are (between them),” says a source.

William, Kate, Harry and Meghan meet the public during the long walk at Windsor Castle on September 10, 2022

However, among the extended Windsor clan that will be staying at Balmoral this year are the Prince and Princess of Wales with George, Charlotte and Louis; the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their teenage children, Louise and James; Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, along with her son Peter Phillips and daughter Zara Tindall, both with their brood; and Charles’ cousin, Lady Sarah Chatto.

The beleaguered Duke of York will also spend time there with his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Eugenie, and their young families.

There had been some doubt about whether Andrew would even participate in the family gathering after the late Queen’s

“There are a large number of properties around the estate, so not everyone has to stay in Balmoral Castle itself,” an insider noted, delicately adding that they don’t even have to run into each other if they don’t want to.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are expected to celebrate the poignant one-year anniversary at Balmoral Castle on September 8 (pictured)

Charles will spend the first week of August at the Castle of Mey in Caithness, the former home of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, before being joined by his wife at Birkhall.

But there are practical difficulties in admitting the public. Balmoral is quite a ‘fragile’ building despite its solid appearance, with few public facilities and in need of updating. As one source says, ‘You can’t just throw open the doors and say, ‘Come on in guys’.

“Very many things have remained as they are because Her Majesty’s late Majesty was in the last years of her life and it was quite right that she should have peace, quiet, comfort and familiarity.

“Between that and Covid, many construction projects have been postponed. Ways to increase (public) accessibility are being looked at, but they are still being mapped out.

“People like that the castle is an authentic royal residence that the family still uses.”

Despite decades of planning for the late queen’s death, sources say it actually happened “so quickly” that courtiers and royals were inevitably caught out.

“It really did,” they emphasize. After all, just a day or two earlier, we had that extraordinary and moving final photo of Queen Elizabeth greeting then Prime Minister Liz Truss at her private apartments.

As a result, the monarchy had to “build the plane as it flew,” borrow a palatial language, tear up existing diaries, long-planned foreign visits and domestic obligations, and merge two large, well-established households.