Harry and Meghan Miss Royal Ceremony as Rift With Palace Deepens

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were not invited to the royal ceremony held in London on Saturday for King Charles III's official birthday, underscoring how far they remain from the British royal family years after leaving the UK. The event included Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Catherine, and their children, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stayed at their home in California.

Their absence continues a long-running break with the palace. Hugo Vickers, author of "Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History," said Harry and Meghan's departure and their controversial interview with Oprah intensified tensions in Queen Elizabeth II's final years.

Harry has also written about awkward moments inside the family in his book "Spare." He recalled that during Meghan's first appearance at a royal event in 2018, shortly after their wedding, Kate Middleton asked for her view of the ceremony and Meghan joked, "Colorful." Harry wrote that the remark was followed by "a deafening silence that threatened to swallow everyone." He said Meghan later went on her first royal outing with Queen Elizabeth II and that the two "got on great," but friction between the couples continued over other issues.

In the book, Harry said Kate believed Meghan wanted her fashion contacts, and he described disputes over bridesmaids' dresses at the wedding. He also wrote that Kate and William were angry Harry and Meghan did not give them Easter gifts, and that Kate demanded an apology after Meghan referred to her hormones as "baby brain" during her pregnancy. Harry and Meghan last attended such a ceremony in 2019, before leaving England in early 2020. In 2022, during the Platinum Jubilee, they watched the procession from a side window at Buckingham Palace rather than joining the working royals on the balcony. On Saturday, while the London ceremony was taking place, Harry appeared by video from the Invictus event in Germany, the sports competition he founded for wounded veterans.