Reports have surfaced that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry did invite Prince William and Kate Middleton to daughter Lilibet's birthday party.
Rumours of a rift between the two couples have played out in headlines around the world for months.
Yet the entire Cambridge clan - Kate, William together with children, George, eight, Charlotte, seven, and four-year-old Louis are understood to have been on the guest list for the intimate gathering to mark little Lilibet's first birthday.
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Meghan and Harry only wanted close friends and family at the low-key back garden picnic while attending the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The Mirror reports how attendees reportedly included Zara and Mike Tindall's three children, Mia, eight, Lena, three, and Lucas, one, as well as Savannah, 11, and Isla, 10, daughters of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly.
The Cambridges are believed to have been invited to the birthday bash 'as an olive branch', according to Page Six, but they were unable to attend the celebrations at Frogmore Cottage.
William and Kate were actually miles away as they carried out a royal engagement in Cardiff with George and Charlotte while Louis remained at home.
A source told a US paper that relations between the warring brothers are 'still fraught', adding: "William is still wary of spending any time alone with Harry as you never quite know what may be reported back afterwards."
It is understood that three-year-old Archie's godfather, Charlie Van Straubenzee, and his brother Tom, godfather to Princess Charlotte, were also invited.
The relaxed event included all the usual features of a one-year-old's birthday - such as birthday cake, balloons, party face painting and games.
The Sussexes gave the world a rare glimpse of their daughter by releasing a sweet snap of the one-year-old enjoying her birthday celebrations on the grass outside.
It was taken by family friend Misan Harriman who also took the sweet snaps used by Harry and Meghan to announce the Duchess was pregnant with Lilibet in February 2021.
He wrote on his Twitter: "It was such a privilege to celebrate the first birthday of Lilibet with my family and hers! Joy and face painting all around."
It is thought Harry and Meghan's wedding baker made Lilibet's first birthday cake.
On Thursday, Meghan and Harry were reunited with some of the royals at Horse Guards Parade for Trooping the Colour.
They were seen chatting and joking with some of the younger royals - although were not pictured with Kate or the other Cambridges and did not appear on the balcony for the RAF flypast.
Then all eyes were on Meghan and Harry on Friday as they joined the rest of the royal family for a service of thanksgiving as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
It was the first time they both attended an official engagement since they quit their senior roles and moved to the US last year.
It's also the first time Meghan and Kate have been seen in public together since the Duchess of Sussex accused her sister-in-law of making her cry during her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Meghan and Harry were seen chatting to some members of the family as they arrived at St Paul's Cathedral, sharing a joke with Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and their husbands.
However many royal fans were left wondering why the Sussexes had been seated so far away from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, especially as they were say just behind them at their last royal engagement in 2020.
While many believed it was due the well-documented rift between the brothers, the seating plan was actually just down to royal protocol as the royals arrived in order of seniority,
Huge cheers were heard as Meghan and Harry stepped out of their car and walked into the historical building holding hands and sat in the second row with cousins Beatrice and Eugenie.
Harry and Meghan were not seen at any other events before they flew back to America on Sunday as they did not attend the star-studded Jubilee concert on Saturday evening.
A spokesperson for the couple, who stepped down as senior royals in 2020, said they were spending the day privately.
Sources close to the couple revealed they were “perhaps understandably nervous” ahead of their trip to the UK but would keep a low profile.
A royal source said: “It’s fair to say that things between the Duke and Duchess and the rest of the family have been strained to say the least in recent times.
“But so far they have kept to themselves and their promise that they wouldn’t overshadow the celebrations.”
