King Charles Ensured No Royal Could Attend Prince Harry’s Invictus Games Service by Scheduling Garden Party at the Same Time
King Charles Ensured No Royal Could Attend Prince Harry’s Invictus Games Service by Scheduling Garden Party at the Same Time
King Charles is letting Prince Harry know who’s boss!
On Wednesday, May 8, the Duke of Sussex attended a church service in England that honored the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games — but the monarch made sure no members of the royal family could attend, as at that same time, he scheduled a mandatory garden party at Buckingham Palace.
According to a report, all working royals — such as Princess Anne and Prince Edward — were asked to go to the gathering on the great lawn, which 5,000 people were invited to.
Since Kate Middleton is still in the midst of her cancer treatment, she and Prince William were excused from attending.
This week marks the second time Harry has been in his native country in 2024, but the father-son duo is clearly not on great terms despite reconciliation rumors.
Some people thought Charles’ snub was the wrong decision, as Harry’s Invictus Games aids wounded veterans.
“Charles has made it quite clear he is ready to be friendly and supportive to Harry in his capacity as a private person, as his dad, but he is not going to throw the weight of the institution behind Invictus again,” a source told the news outlet. “This all seems very logical inside the Palace bubble, but the trouble is that people who don’t particularly care about such things, who are dimly aware that the royals spend their days visiting community centers and opening supermarkets, are going to wonder why they are boycotting this terrific charity that is headed by the king’s son.”
“Many of us think this is a classic example of the royals cutting off their nose to spite their face, because Invictus is clearly exactly the kind of organization the royal family should be supporting,” the source continued. “If a bridge is ever going to be built [between Harry and the royals], Invictus is the bridgehead to build it from, and they should get on and do it.”
As OK! reported, Meghan Markle didn’t join her husband overseas, but that didn’t make Charles any more eager to have a reunion with the Spare author, as it was said Harry won’t be seeing any of his relatives while in town.
“He was, of course, hoping to see his family. Possibly that’s why the trip was three days… but as we now know, there will be no family meetings,” royal expert Katie Nicholl told a news outlet. “I think certainly the fact that time hasn’t been made over these three days for father and son to have some sort of meeting — when you consider their last meeting was just about 30 or 40 minutes when Harry flew all the way from California to see his father — certainly fuels that narrative of a rift,” she added.
“When you take away the rift and who they are in terms of the royal family, they are a family, and Harry’s gone through an awful lot since finding out his father’s been diagnosed with cancer,” the journalist explained. “He’s all those miles away, understandably very worried about his papa, as he calls him, and he is here for three days.”
Added Nicholl: “I think it was very much his hope that he’d get to see his father. I’m told he’s rather hurt and quite disappointed that he hasn’t had that opportunity.”
Daily Beast reported on Charles scheduling a garden party during Harry’s service.
