Prince William Was The Priority In Duke Of Westminster's Wedding Over Prince Harry, Royal Expert Claims

Hugh Grosvenor is close to Prince William and Prince Harry, but there is no question as to who between the royal siblings is his priority in his wedding, according to a royal expert.

The Duke of Westminster, a close pal to both the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex, tied the knot with Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral on Friday. Prince Harry was noticeably missing and his absence was not a huge surprise as the groom and Meghan Markle's husband reportedly came to a "civilized understanding" that the latter would skip the event.

"The Dukes of Westminster have always been close to the royal family. William and Harry's mum, Princess Diana, was close friends with Hugh Grosvenor's mum, Natalia. Tally, as she is known, is Prince William's godmother and in turn, Diana was godmother to her daughter, Edwina," Ingrid Seward, a royal biographer and editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, told the Mirror.

"Young Hugh, who is also a godfather to Prince George. There was never any question as to which of the brothers would take center stage at the wedding. It had to be William. Harry made it clear he wouldn't be attending, having had a chat with Hugh about the awkward situation and agreeing he should be the one to step down."

She added that Markle was probably another reason Prince Harry decided to skip the wedding. Seward said that the former actress was "unwilling to attend such a high-profile society wedding" since most disliked her and she would not subject herself to a situation where she would be snubbed or embarrassed.

Royal biographer and commentator Katie Nicholl also spoke about the groom's relationship with King Charles' son a day before the wedding. According to the "William and Harry: Behind the Palace Walls" author, the Duke of Westminster is a godfather to both Prince George and Archie.

However, the Duke of Sussex "very diplomatically declined" the invitation because he knew it would be "too awkward" to be in the same venue as his brother.

"Prince William is going to be an usher and that part of that role will be to show other guests to their seats, so you can only imagine how awkward it would be if Harry and Megan turned up, and it was William showing them to their seats," Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight.

She also weighed in on the royal siblings' relationship. According to Nicholl, they are still not on speaking terms.

"Relations between the Sussexes and the Wales remains at an all-time low," Nicholl said. "I'm told that William and Harry really are not even on speaking terms."

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Prince William, Prince Harry