Prince Harry Pushes Back on Reportedly Rejecting King Charles Birthday Party Invite
The royal family drama continues as King Charles III’s birthday nears. This time, it’s about whether or not Prince Harry received — and rejected — an invite to the festivities when his father turns 75. Following reports the Duke of Sussex RSVP’d no to a private celebration for the king, the 39-year-old dismissed the claim. What Harry said about his supposed King Charles birthday party invite. Plus, where things are believed to stand between the father and son.
A spokesperson for Harry claims there’s been ‘no contact’ regarding a King Charles birthday party invitation
On the evening of Nov. 6, 2023, just hours before King Charles opened parliament, Harry addressed the Sunday Times’ report he rejected an invite to his father’s 75th birthday party.
In a statement to The Messenger, and later People and MailOnline, a rep said the following: “In response to U.K. media headlines, there has been no contact regarding an invitation to His Majesty’s upcoming birthday. It is disappointing the Sunday Times has misreported this story.”
The brief statement comes after the coronation, when in May 2023, Harry last made a public appearance alongside his estranged father and brother, Prince William, as well as other royals.
King Charles and Harry’s relationship is said to be ‘very strained’ as the birthday party approaches
As for where things stand between the king and Harry, it doesn’t seem much has changed. “What’s the relationship like with his father? It’s still very, very strained, I understand,” royal expert Russell Myers told Express. “He won’t be coming here to celebrate his dad’s 75th birthday in just a matter of days — there’s going to be a party at Clarence House for the king.”
“No doubt we’ll see all the royals gathering there and enjoying the celebrations. Why shouldn’t Harry be there when they are?” Myers asked. “However, it still needs a bit of cooling of relations, I think.”
Meanwhile, per a report from The Telegraph, Harry and King Charles don’t talk much at all. “Communications between the king and Prince Harry remain pretty poor,” the outlet reported. “They don’t speak much, if at all.”
The reason, the report claimed, is partly because of the king’s “workaholic” tendencies, as he prefers communicating via phone or letter as opposed to text or WhatsApp. Another element is the king’s lingering “disappointment” over how Harry painted Queen Camilla in Spare.
Also quoted in the report was editor Camilla Tominey who said King Charles has “remarkably little contact” with Harry.
King Charles always planned on inviting Harry to his birthday party, friend says
Amid the report and Harry’s response, a friend of King Charles’s told the Times that despite the state of their relationship, the king always intended to invite his youngest son.
“When he [Charles] gets to the end of another successful workday and thinks of his family, there will always be a twinge in his heart about a problem he hasn’t been able to solve yet,” they said. “But he will be taking the long-term view. The current act is a challenging one. There are issues that aren’t resolved, and there won’t be rapprochement any time soon.”
“There is the sense of a cooling off period from the family that is underway after the aftershocks of the book and interviews,” they continued, referencing Spare as well as Harry’s Netflix docuseries. “But that doesn’t change the king’s love for his son. He’ll never not invite his son to a family gathering because that’s not who he is.”
King Charles turns 75 on Nov. 14, 2023.
