This week, the British media has run dozens, if not hundreds, of stories about “Prince Harry is not attending Hugh Grosvenor’s wedding.” A wedding which is today, by the way. We’ve known since December that Harry would not attend his friend’s wedding. The only “debate” was whether Hugh invited the Sussexes and, if the Sussexes were invited, why they declined. We seriously established this months ago: Hugh invited the Sussexes and Harry declined soon after he received the invitation and he had a friendly phone conversation with Hugh about it. The only one convinced that this is some huge scandal is Prince William, who has spent the past six months making the Duke of Westminster’s wedding all about “egg rage” and “royal drama.” Well, interestingly enough, Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair got an exclusive. According to Nicholl’s sources, Harry did decline the wedding invite because they didn’t want to overshadow Hugh and Olivia’s day, nor did they want to spend one minute in the same space as an angry egg. Not only that, Nicholl got a tip about the Sussexes’ summer plans.

It may be the society event of the year but Prince Harry will not be attending the wedding of his close friend Hugh Grosvenor, the 7th Duke of Westminster, when he marries his fiancée Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral on Friday. Despite conflicting reports, Vanity Fair understands that Harry and Meghan Markle were invited to Friday’s ceremony, but politely declined so as not to overshadow the event or risk any awkward encounters with Prince William, who is an usher and will be bringing his son Prince George as his plus-one.

Grosvenor, who is known as Hughie to friends, is Britain’s youngest billionaire and is close to both William and Harry. He is the godson of King Charles, and the godfather to both Prince George and Prince Archie. According to one source, “Hughie did the right thing inviting both brothers while Harry did the diplomatic thing and politely declined saying there were no hard feelings. It would have been terribly awkward if he had said yes because of the situation with William.”

While Prince Harry’s absence will likely set tongues wagging among the congregation, Vanity Fair has been told that Harry has no plans to return to Britain this summer. It was reported Tuesday that Harry and Meghan will not attend next week’s Trooping the Colour ceremony to mark the king’s birthday, but as non-working members of the family, they would not expect to be invited.

King Charles does, however, plan to invite some of his family to Balmoral later this summer, following a tradition set by the late Queen Elizabeth II, but it is unclear whether the invite will extend to the Sussexes. Princess Lilibet celebrated her third birthday earlier this week and Charles is said to be keen to see his California-based grandchildren.

But according to friends of the Sussexes, Harry and Meghan do not plan to come to the U.K. during the summer. “They are very settled and happy in Montecito where they plan to spend most of the summer,” says a source. “It’s the quiet life Harry has always wanted and he is actually very happy.”

[From Vanity Fair]

About the wedding… William should be completely embarrassed that his juvenile and toxic behavior creates these kinds of situations at weddings and state events. Throughout this whole ordeal, it’s been clear that Hugh and Harry are both forced into these positions where they have to walk on eggshells around William. The same William who has been gleefully briefing lies to his favorite reporters about how Hugh “snubbed” Harry for a wedding invitation and how William is going to be the star of the wedding!

As for the Sussexes’ summer plans… are we getting a hard-launch on American Riviera Orchard or what??? Is Harry going to do another summer polo season in Santa Barbara? Will they go on another foreign tour?? TELL US!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.