Royal Family Rift 'Could Not Be Wider' Amid Reports Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Rejected King Charles' Invite
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's rift with the royal family shows no sign of healing, a Buckingham Palace expert and commentator has claimed.
Richard Fitzwilliams criticized the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for what he deemed "inappropriate timing" after the couple released a statement this week about King Charles on the same day the monarch delivered the first King's Speech in over 70 years.
"The rift in the royal family could not be wider and bemused courtiers must be wondering what comes next," Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail.
Prince Harry and his wife claimed they had received "no contact" from Buckingham Palace regarding the King's 75th birthday party, mere hours before Charles opened Parliament for the first time in his reign at the State Opening of Parliament in the U.K. Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the couple responded to a Sunday Times report that claimed Prince Harry had declined an invitation from his father for a party next week, dismissing it as "misreported" in a statement to The Messenger.
The statement from the Sussexes' rep drew criticism from royal experts and commentators who felt the couple was overshadowing the momentous occasion.
"When he opened Parliament today, King Charles paid tribute to the late Queen. It was a historic occasion, the first time a king had opened Parliament since 1950. George V1 was ill in 1951," Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail. "The very same day, with particularly inappropriate timing, the Sussexes are back in the news."
Fitzwilliams also slammed the duke and duchess for their "sense of entitlement" and seemingly hit out at the possibility of another bombshell memoir coming from the Sussexes following Prince Harry's "Spare."
"Let us hope that the reported four-book deal with Random House does not lead to another memoir," the royal expert told the outlet.
The ongoing rift between Prince Harry and his family deepened after the release of his memoir, "Spare," earlier this year.
Though he attended his father's coronation ceremony in May, Prince Harry immediately flew home to California without attending another event.
The absence of a direct invitation to the ceremony from King Charles fueled tensions, an unnamed "close friend" of Harry's told People.
"They didn't hear from Charles. Harry wanted to hear from his father directly - it's always through somebody," the friend said.
