Major Family Events May Not Be Enough to Bring Harry, Meghan, and the Royals Together, Expert Says
Whether it’s Trooping the Colour or another celebration on the royal family’s calendar, an expert says Prince Harry and Meghan Markle probably won’t be there. Rather, only one type of event is expected to put the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the same room with the rest of the royal family.
Harry and Meghan were last seen with the royal family at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral
Save for King Charles III’s coronation, which Harry attended solo, Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral was the last time Harry and Meghan alongside other royals. They attended the queen’s state funeral on Sept. 19, 2022, at Westminster Abbey.
Leading up to the funeral, the pair took part in a series of events, including a vigil and lying-in-state service. Harry and Meghan also joined Prince William and Kate Middleton to look at tributes outside Windsor Castle.
They reportedly left the U.K. upset with how the royal family treated them. Since then, Harry and Meghan have lobbed more accusations at the royal family via their eponymous Netflix docuseries and Harry’s Spare memoir.
An expert doesn’t expect much Harry, Meghan, and royal family ‘interaction’ for years
According to royal expert Gareth Russell, seeing the royals all together isn’t likely anytime soon. “I don’t think we’ll see a great deal of interaction between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family for quite some time,” he told Us Weekly. “I can’t think of a really big royal event that’s coming up for the next couple of years.”
“There’s obviously no coronation, no wedding — as far as we know — no christenings,” the expert continued. “Even those big events were not enough to completely reunite the family. We didn’t see all of the Sussexes at the coronation.”
“The next time we see all of them together could be when there is a big attempt at a successful bridge building,” Russell said. “Or, really unfortunately, the next time we could see them all together is another funeral.”
Harry and Meghan aren’t expected to mark the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death with the royal family
Russell continued, saying the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death isn’t likely to have the Duke and Duchess of Sussex back in the same room with the rest of the royal family.
“We don’t know if the invitation was sent out,” the expert said. “I would be quite surprised if [Harry and Meghan] would’ve accepted it. We know they had declined the invitation [to visit] when Elizabeth was still alive. So I can’t imagine them saying yes to an invitation now for no other reason than nothing really has changed in the dynamic in this family.”
Perspectives on both sides seem to be the same as they’ve been since 2020, when Harry and Meghan stepped back as senior working royals and relocated to California.
“Prince Harry allegedly still wants and expects a full apology,” Russell said. Meanwhile, “‘Recollections may vary’ continues to be the royals’ perspective on things as much as we can tell.”
“So, no, I suppose we’ll find out one way or the other someday whether they were invited,” he continued. “But I would be stunned if they had said yes and went to it.”
“The wounds still feel fresh” for the royal family in the wake of Queen Elizabeth’s death,” a source told the outlet, saying “It’s been hard for them to find a way for a celebration that will match the gravitas the queen exuded.”
While the details aren’t yet finalized, “some acknowledgment or event” is expected on Sept. 8 to remember Queen Elizabeth, a source told the outlet. Meanwhile, King Charles is predicted to spend the day with Queen Camilla “reflect[ing] in solitude.”
The anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death is Sept. 8, 2023. One day later, on Sept. 9, 2023, Harry’s Invictus Games begin in Germany.
