Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have claimed have hit back at claims they declined an invitation to King Charles’s 75th birthday bash.
King Charles III is set to celebrate the milestone with a party at Clarence House with his closest friends and family on Tuesday, November 14.
The Sunday Times reported that Prince Harry had turned down an invitation to the birthday bash, and will stay in California. But a spokesperson for the Sussexes has said that the couple had no idea about it.
‘There has been no contact regarding an invitation to His Majesty’s upcoming birthday. It is disappointing the Sunday Times has misreported this story,’ they said. The same spokesperson also denied that Meghan, who found fame on Suits, will be making a return to acting following reports earlier this week.
A source close to the Sussexes told MailOnline that they were not invited to Charles III’s party in London next week. ‘They had not received any invitation and were unaware of any celebrations until the stories came out,’ the insider said, adding: ‘I’m sure the Duke will find a way to reach out privately to wish His Majesty a happy birthday like he has always done’.
A friend of the couple suggested the Palace could even have leaked the ‘snubbing’ story to take attention away from the recent royal visit to Kenya, where the King faced calls to apologise for Britain’s colonial past.
‘The story is being positioned in a way to make it look like the Duke is snubbing his father, which he is not,’ the friend said. ‘Considering the trip [to Kenya] didn’t go well, this might be a welcome distraction.’
Royal and Government sources have been clear that they consider the Kenyan trip last week was a ‘resounding success’.
A friend of the Sussexes told MailOnline that they would normally have been included in plans for significant events in the UK, despite the widening gap between themselves and the rest of the royal family.
‘The story in The Times as well as subsequent stories have been positioned in a way to make it look like the Duke is snubbing his father, which he is not.’