This measure could harden the fronts between the royal family and the Sussexes: Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are said to have been unloaded from the state reception the day before Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. “Totally crazy,” says a friend of the couple.
It would be a further humiliation for Prince Harry, 38, and Duchess Meghan, 41, during their mourning stay in Great Britain: The couple is said to have received an invitation to the state reception for crowned heads and heads of government on Sunday, September 18, 2022, at Buckingham Palace last week have received. But the Sussexes are said to have been unloaded at short notice. Palace officials allegedly gave the reason that they, as non-working royals, should not appear at the high-profile event hosted by King Charles III, 73, and Queen Camilla, 75. A step that is viewed critically by the couple’s circle of friends.
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan: “Excluded” and injured?
The world mourns Queen Elizabeth, † 96. On September 19, 20222 the monarch of the century will be laid to rest. On the eve of the great state funeral, King Charles and his wife received around 1,000 high-ranking guests, including various heads of state, ambassadors and foreign royals. Members of the royal family stood by the newly proclaimed monarch as a welcoming committee: Prince William, 40, Catherine, Princess of Wales, 40, Princess Anne, 72, with her husband Sir Tim Laurence, 67, Prince Edward, 58, and Countess Sophie of Wessex, 57.
Pictures from the state reception at Buckingham Palace
18 images
However, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan were absent, although they are said to have previously received an invitation to the reception. Rumors about the Queen’s grandson and his wife being unloaded were already circulating in advance. The palace’s decision to rule out the two at short notice was met with harsh criticism. A friend of the Sussexes told The Sunday Times, “It’s absolutely crazy when they’re not there. Everyone comes from all over the world to pay their respects to the Queen.”
The confidant, who is said to be close to the couple, pointed out that Harry and Meghan may feel “left out” after the invitation was allegedly withdrawn.
A development that could put further obstacles in the way of a rapprochement between the couple, who retired as senior royals in 2020, and the royal family. The past two weeks revealed old and created new deep injuries on both sides.
humiliations in times of mourning
When the two royals, who live in the United States, set foot together again on European soil for several events in early September and visited Great Britain and Germany, there was no official indication of a meeting with family members. The two had allegedly not even planned a visit to the frail-looking Queen.
When news of her worrisome health condition broke on September 8th and her next of kin rushed to her, Harry was the last to travel to her deathbed. It was later said the delay in his arrival may have been related to discussions about whether Meghan would be allowed to accompany him to Balmoral. It was said to have been the wish of the 41-year-old. When Charles’ youngest son made his way from London to Scotland alone, rumors spread.
Initially, the change of plan was attributed to Catherine, who also did not accompany her husband to Aberdeenshire in order to gently teach her children the bereavement that was already becoming apparent at this point. In addition, palace officials are said to have reacted to Meghan’s concerns with raised eyebrows, since the relationship between the Sussexes and the royal relatives has been disturbed by their open-hearted and public criticism of the royal family in the past two years. A few days later it was said that King Charles himself had asked Harry not to bring his wife.
The royal family’s time of mourning and public appearances promised further humiliation for the Duke of Sussex: With his retirement from the front ranks of the royal family, the former military forfeited any right to wear uniform at state events.
The Queen’s grandchildren stand guard at her side
23 images
An exception was made to the 15-minute vigil held by the Queen’s disgusting children at the late monarch’s coffin in Westminster Hall on the Saturday before her occupation. According to the Sunday Times, Prince Harry was said to have been “devastated” when he noticed that his grandmother’s initials – “ER” – had been removed from the shoulder of his uniform [Anmerkung der Redaktion: ER steht für Elizabeth Regina. Elizabeth war der Vorname der Queen, Regina bedeutet auf Latein “Königin”.]
So now the alleged unloading from the state reception. Degradations like this could overshadow the grief for the beloved grandmother. The Queen’s heartfelt wish to have her grandson and his family back in the bosom of the Windsors could – how ironic – have been pushed afar by her death.
Source used: thetimes.co.uk