As I mentioned last week, I’ve been surprised by the fact that the British press hasn’t made this into a months-long drama full of self-sustaining panicky quotes from “royal insiders.” The issue? The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not been invited to Trooping the Colour, the “birthday parade” of the monarch. Trooping took a hit in recent years, with the pandemic and QEII’s poor health, but this will be the first Trooping of King Charles’s reign. Apparently, Charles did not invite his younger son. Which is unsurprising. I would also assume – although this is not how it’s being reported – that Harry and Meghan have absolutely zero interest in returning for a few days just to be snubbed and vilified. Per Richard Eden at the Mail:

When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit royal duties three years ago, Queen Elizabeth said they would ‘always be much loved members of my family’. And Buckingham Palace officials were keen to stress that they would continue to be invited to family events. I hear that Prince Harry and Meghan have not, however, been invited to the King’s Birthday Parade next weekend. It will be the first time in Harry’s life that he has not been welcome at the monarch’s official birthday celebrations. This year’s event is particularly significant because it is the first since his father succeeded to the throne last September.

‘I’m afraid it’s a reflection of the state of relations at the moment,’ a source tells me.

The couple flew over from California for last year’s Trooping the Colour, which became part of Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee weekend. They were invited by the late Queen to watch the ceremony with other members of the Royal Family from offices overlooking Horse Guards Parade. Long-lens photographers captured through the window grainy shots of the couple briefly larking around with the young children of Zara and Mike Tindall. They were not, however, asked to be on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the official flypast later in the day.

Since last June, Harry and Meghan have done much damage to relations with the Royal Family. First, they took part in a ‘docu-series’, or reality show, for Netflix, in which they made a series of strongly disputed claims. Then, Harry published his highly controversial memoirs, Spare, which included details of intimate conversations with members of his family and lurid claims such as his alleged assault by Prince William.

Harry was in Britain this week, reportedly staying at Frogmore Cottage, Windsor, while he gave evidence in his privacy case at the High Court in London against Mirror Group Newspapers. He is said not to have spoken to his father or brother while he was here.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman declines to comment. Harry and Meghan refuse to communicate with the popular Press.

[From The Daily Mail]

For what it’s worth, Harry and Meghan were only “invited” to last year’s Jubbly extravaganza by QEII herself, when they stopped in to check on her before they headed to the Invictus Games. QEII maintained that they were always invited back to celebrate her Jubbly, meanwhile her staff threw daily tantrums about how the Sussexes wouldn’t be allowed on the fakakta balcony. I thought maybe we would get a repeat of all of that this year, with Charles publicly dithering about whether to invite the Sussexes and/or ban them altogether. The fact that Harry was already back in town for his court appearance took the wind out of that whole storyline. In any case, I do believe that Charles didn’t even bother to invite the Sussexes. I also believe that the Sussexes couldn’t care less.

Also: “Harry and Meghan refuse to communicate with the popular Press.” They refuse to communicate with the tabloids they’re suing. They refuse to communicate with the racist gutter press.

Photos courtesy of Instar, Cover Images.