Prince Harry reportedly snubbed dinner with his father and brother at Balmoral, after his wife Meghan Markle was banned from joining the family on the day the Queen died.
The British monarch sadly passed away at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, at the age of 96.
While a host of senior royals rushed to see the Queen before she died, it’s believed her eldest children Charles and Princess Anne were the only ones who were able to make it on time.
Prince Andrew, Prince William, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie got a private jet from Berkshire to Aberdeen on September 8 after hearing the news of her declining health, but it’s understood they did not reach the estate before she passed.
According to The Sun, Harry was supposed to be on their flight, but things were delayed when the Duke of Sussex was allegedly told he couldn’t bring his wife.
Earlier that day, the couple’s spokesman said they would both be travelling to Scotland, but it was later confirmed that the Duchess wouldn’t be joining her husband.
Insiders have since claimed Charles phoned his youngest son and said it was “not appropriate” for Meghan to be there.
Following the delay, Harry had to jump on a separate flight without Meghan to Aberdeen, but he sadly didn’t make it until after the Queen’s death was announced to the public.
Harry’s flight had been due to land at 6.29pm, a minute before the statement, but it was 20 minutes late taking off from London’s Luton Airport.
By the time he landed in Aberdeen at 6.46pm, it was 16 minutes after the Palace had made the announcement.
The Duke was then driven to Balmoral Castle, where he reportedly declined dinner at Birkhall with King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla, and Prince William.
A source said: “Harry was so busy trying to get Meghan to Balmoral and rowing with his family that he missed the flight.”
“Charles has an open invitation for Harry to dine with him whenever he is in the country. But Harry was so furious that he refused to eat with his father and brother.”
“It was a massive snub. And he got out of Balmoral at the earliest opportunity to catch the first commercial flight back to London.”
Just hours after he arrived at the royal estate on September 8, Harry departed the following morning and boarded a British Airways flight from Aberdeen to London at 10am.
The Duke was then reunited with Meghan at their UK residence, Frogmore Cottage, Windsor.
Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior working members of the Royal family in March 2020, and subsequently moved to Montecito, California with their children.
Since then, there has been an evident rift between them and Harry’s family, especially with Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Despite this, the couples stepped out in public together for the first time in over two years when they visited Windsor on Saturday, September 10.
It was later reported that William, the new Prince of Wales, “invited” the couple to join him and his wife Kate Middleton to put on a “united front” in wake of the Queen’s death.
But days later, Harry and Meghan were reportedly uninvited from the Queen’s pre-funeral reception at Buckingham Palace.
According to The Telegraph, the couple had received an invite to the pre-funeral reception, which was hosted by King Charles III and his Queen Consort Camilla.
However, the pair were later informed that only working members of the Royal Family were welcome to attend the event.
After attending the Queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday, the couple jetted back to the US on Tuesday.
It’s understood the pair were eager to reunite with their two children – Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1 – after spending 17 days away from them.
Meghan and Harry tied-the-knot in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in May 2018, and welcomed their first child Archie the following year.
The couple then welcomed their second child, a daughter named Lilibet Diana after Harry’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II and his late mother Diana, last June.
