Prince Harry and Meghan were ‘snubbed’ from the Royal Family’s annual summer trip to Balmoral Castle amid ‘deepening rift with King Charles’
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have not been invited to the royal family’s summer gathering at Balmoral Castle this year, sources said today.
King Charles III continued the tradition of his late mother Queen Elizabeth II of travelling to the estate in the Scottish Highlands towards the end of the summer.
But the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet have, according to People magazine.
The news has not yet been confirmed by either party. MailOnline has today contacted representatives for Buckingham Palace and the Sussexes for comment.
Other royals expected at Balmoral this year include Prince William and his wife Kate with their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
A source said Express.co.uk that the Waleses would be attending, adding: ‘It will be a fairly low-key affair this year, with everyone meeting up to just relax and unwind.’
Prince Harry and Meghan at the 2024 ESPY Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on July 11
Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands is much loved by members of the Royal Family
Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, are also expected to join the family at the gathering, which will take place in mid-August.
But Harry, who has previously spoken of his love for Balmoral and spent most of his childhood at the resort, is not expected to join them.
The Duke wrote in his memoirs Spare: ‘To me, Balmoral was always just paradise. A cross between Disney World and a sacred Druid grove.
‘I was always too busy fishing, shooting and running up and down ‘the hill’ to notice anything strange about the Feng Shui of the old castle.
“What I mean to say is that I was happy there.”
However, Balmoral also brings back many sad memories for the royal family, as it is where Elizabeth II died in September 2022 at the age of 96.
Prince Harry at the Balmoral estate with his father Charles and brother William in 1997
Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral on September 6, 2022, two days before her death at the age of 96
Harry was in the UK with Meghan at the time when he received a call from Charles. He told him that his grandmother’s health was deteriorating.
The Duke then made plans to fly to the estate on a charter flight from London Luton Airport, but his father asked him not to take Meghan.
When his plane landed in Scotland, he saw on his phone on the BBC news website that the Queen had died.
Balmoral is currently open to the public during the summer, before Charles and Queen Camilla arrive for their holiday.
Tickets for the tours cost £100 or £150 including afternoon tea. They sold out within 24 hours of the start of sales. From 1 July to 4 August, 40 people were allowed to visit the royal residence each day.
The news follows a flurry of news that Harry and Meghan will visit Colombia later this year after accepting an invitation from the country’s vice president, Francia Márquez. However, the dates have not yet been confirmed.
Yesterday, CBS released a clip of Harry and Meghan in an interview about child safety online, which will air on the US channel’s Sunday Morning show
At roughly the same time as Columbia’s announcement yesterday, CBS released a clip from an interview with Harry and Meghan this coming Sunday about cybersafety for children, in which the duke said that parents need to be “first responders.”
And People magazine this week published a number of articles using quotes from sources close to the Sussexes.
One of them saw friends of Harry claim that the King is no longer answering his estranged son’s calls or responding to his letters, as their rift widens.
The Duke and Charles last saw each other in person in February, when they met for 45 minutes in London after the monarch was diagnosed with cancer.
Sources close to Harry say their communications have since deteriorated amid growing tensions surrounding the duke’s battle for his safety in Britain.
The Duke is said to be ‘afraid’ for the safety of his wife Meghan and his children Archie and Lilibet, and is convinced the King has the power to intervene in his ongoing legal case at the Home Office.
King Charles III and Prince Harry, pictured at the Natural History Museum in December 2019
William, Harry, Meghan and Charles speak at Westminster Abbey in London in March 2019
Sources said People that the issue of safety started as a point of frustration between father and son, but has now developed into ‘complete silence’.
A friend of Harry’s said: ‘He gets ‘not available now’. His calls go unanswered. He has tried to get in touch about the King’s health but those calls also go unanswered.’
Decisions regarding the Duke’s security are taken independently of the King by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royal Families and Public Figures (Ravec), which is part of the Ministry of the Interior.
Harry last visited the UK in May to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, but was unable to meet his father during this recent trip.
The Duke’s spokesman said at the time that this was due to the King’s “full schedule”.
The US magazine also cited sources as saying Meghan wished Harry could “drop these lawsuits over their safety” because she wants the Duke to be “free” and “live in the moment”.
The People The report quoted a former employee of the Archewell Foundation as saying: “[Meghan] wants him to be freed from all this, but she also knows that because of everything he’s been through and his love for [her and their children]he can’t. She wants him to live in a world where he’s not burdened by this.’