Harry and Meghan have refused an invite to stay with Prince Charles, reports The Mirror. Royal insiders say that the Prince of Wales reiterated that they were still “always welcome” to stay with him.
They're both due at an event in Manchester tomorrow, and will then jet off Germany before returning to the UK later in the week.
Former actress Meghan, 41, launched another astonishing broadside against the Royal Family last week, suggesting in a US magazine how her husband felt his bond with his father was over following his decision to quit his public duties.
Meghan told The Cut magazine: “Harry said to me: ‘I lost my dad in this process’.
“It doesn’t have to be the same for them as it was for me, but that’s his decision.”
Sources close to Prince Charles suggested he would be “saddened” if Harry felt their relationship was lost, adding: “The Prince of Wales loves both his sons.”
But another close friend of the heir told how despite any apparent friction in their relationship, it is Charles who has once again tried to bring his son back into the fold.
The palace insider said: “He (Charles) hasn’t wavered, despite the attacks which seem to be coming with increased vigour.
“The Prince of Wales reiterated his invitation for Harry and Meghan, and the whole family if they wished, to come and stay with him this summer while he is at his home on the Balmoral estate.
“He (Charles) thought it might be a good opportunity for everyone to take stock and relax, but the invitation was declined, as it has been before. Nevertheless it remains.”
Harry and Meghan, who now live in California after quitting their royal roles in 2020, are in the country this week to undertake two charity engagements, tomorrow in London and on Tuesday in Manchester, as well as jetting off to Germany on Thursday to mark the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games.
Harry is currently locked in a bitter High Court battle against the Home Office over a decision to strip him and his family of taxpayer funded security.
Reports suggested Harry and Meghan have insisted on being protected by a “ring of steel” by private security firms during their UK visit to two charity events.
Our source added: “One would have thought if such concerns existed, the best place to be would be next to the family, but there you go.”
It will be their first time back in the UK since returning for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in June, where they are understood to have received a frosty reception.
Royal sources suggested the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be “keeping a low profile” outside of their UK engagements for the One Youth World Summit and the WellChild charity awards after Meghan’s astonishing article sent shockwaves through The Firm.
In a 6,400-word magazine article, Meghan made a series of apparent swipes at the royals, warning she could “say anything” now that she has left the Firm.
She also revealed she had kept a “journal” during his brief time as a royal and suggested the couple felt forced to leave Britain because “just by existing, we were upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy”.
When stepping away from their roles as senior royals, Harry and Meghan promised that "everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty".
But one source who spoke to The Sunday Times suggested they could not fathom what Harry and Meghan are doing "would equate to the values of the Queen, who has never encouraged people to discuss deeply personal family relationships in public".
The source added: "She (the Queen) doesn't want to be on tenterhooks all the time, waiting to see what the next nuclear bomb will be - that will take its toll."
Meanwhile, a friend of the Prince of Wales said Charles is "completely bewildered by why his son, whom he loves deeply, feels this is the way to go about managing family relationships".
Harry and Meghan have taken part in a number of interviews since their departure from royal life, including a controversial sit-down with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
They accused the royal family of racism, claiming an unnamed royal made a racist remark about Archie before he was born, and that the institution failed to help a suicidal Meghan.
A spokesman for the Prince of Wales offered no comment.
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