Harry snubbed dinner invite with Charles, William at Balmoral Castle. Here’s why

Prince Harry had declined an invitation to have dinner at the Balmoral Castle in Scotland with his father King Charles III and brother Prince William on September 8 – the day Queen Elizabeth II died, The Sun reported.

The Duke of Sussex insisted that his wife Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, also be invited to the dinner but the new monarch of Great Britain reportedly phoned his younger son to say it would not be “appropriate”.

Charles’ move left Harry “furious” and also caused him to miss an RAF flight to Scotland he was scheduled to take with William and their uncles Prince Andrew and Edward. The Duke of Sussex was asked to make his own travel arrangements and he eventually landed in Aberdeen without the Duchess by his side at 6.35pm – minutes after the Queen’s passing was announced to the world.

Harry was driven to Balmoral more than an hour later, and it is then that he snubbed the dinner invitation with Charles, Camilla and William, at Birkhall, The Sun report added.

Harry instead chose to mourn with his uncles Andrew and Edward, and Sophie (Edward’s wife) at Balmoral.

“It was a massive snub. And he got out of Balmoral at the earliest opportunity to catch the first commercial flight back to London,” The Sun reported citing a source.

Harry was one of the first people to depart from the Balmoral Castle after the Queen died earlier this month. He was driven to the British Airways jet as early as 8am on September 9, which set off for London’s Heathrow Airport at 9.45am. Later, Harry was reunited with his wife at the Frogmore Cottage, Windsor.

Despite this snub, William asked Harry and Meghan to walk with him and his wife Kate Middleton to see flowers and interact with the public at Windsor Castle on September 10.

Also, Charles allowed his younger son to wear a military uniform for a vigil with seven other grandchildren of the late Queen during her lying-in-state at the Westminster Hall. This was a one-time permission for the Duke of Sussex as he was not allowed to wear the uniform at the procession where his grandmother’s coffin was taken from Buckingham Palace to Westminster.

Harry also did not wear the uniform during the Queen’s funeral on September 19 unlike his father, brother, aunt Princess Anne, and uncle Prince Edward.

Harry and Meghan left London and flew to their home in California, US, only 24 hours after the Queen was laid to rest at St George’s Chapel during a private burial ceremony. The relationship between the Sussexes and the royal family have been strained since the couple’s bombshell interview at the Oprah Winfrey Show in March this year. They stepped down as working royals in 2020, and moved to the US.