9 Times The Royal Family Snubbed Harry & Meghan's Kids
Ever since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the royal family in 2020, the couple has been beset by drama. The seemingly endless snubs the Sussexes have endured at the hands of the royal family also extend to their two children: Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. When erstwhile bad boy Harry first became a father in 2019, it should have been a joyful and momentous occasion. But instead, Harry and Meghan allegedly suffered racist microaggressions levied at their son by senior royals, a lack of support during times of crisis, and Harry's ongoing feud with his brother, Prince William.
By the time Harry and Meghan welcomed Lilibet in 2021, the Sussexes' relationship with the royals had reached breaking point. From the outset of the princess' birth, there was an outcry over the fact that her parents named her after Queen Elizabeth II, a backlash that carries with it arguably racist insinuations.
Now that their parents are pariahs within The Firm, there are so many things that Harry and Meghan's kids won't be able to do despite their aristocratic lineage. It seems that the royals won't let Archie and Lilibet forget this, with the youngsters frequently being snubbed by their own family. While there are signs that Harry and Meghan are staging a team Sussex comeback, it remains to be seen whether the powers that be will welcome Archie and Lilibet back to the fold. Let's take a look at nine times the royal family snubbed Harry and Meghan's kids.
The royal family failed to immediately add Lilibet to the line of succession
They may have quit the royal family, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's kids will still be in the line of succession when King Charles dies. Except, the royal family may have forgotten this when Harry and Meghan welcomed their second child, Princess Lilibet, in 2021. Following Lilibet's birth, the line of succession on the royal family website wasn't immediately updated to include the princess. In fact, at the time, the website didn't include a single mention of Lilibet.
Accordingly, there was a backlash against the palace. Some argued that this omission was political, a deliberate snub of the Sussexes, and the likes of which would not have occurred with other royal children. "I can forgive them a week or two, but like a month? ... I honestly don't know what's taken them so long," royal commenter Chris Ship said on "The Royal Rota" podcast, "and actually is this them being a little petulant? Is it them saying, 'Well, we'll get round to it when we're ready?' But it does, to me, feel like ... maybe they're making a point."
Almost two months later, the website was updated to include Lilibet in the line of succession. But as CNN reported, the line of succession is more than a list on a website, and Lilibet was automatically given a place in the order of ascension at birth.
The Waleses reportedly declined an invitation to Princess Lilibet's birthday party
It was such a privilege to celebrate the 1st birthday of Lilibet with my family and hers! Joy and face painting all around ❤️🎂🎉 pic.twitter.com/bg3RY6MOEu
— Misan Harriman (@misanharriman) June 6, 2022
When Princess Lilibet turned 1 in 2022, Prince Harry's brother and sister-in-law were nowhere to be seen. While visiting the U.K. for Queen Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee celebrations, the Sussexes invited Prince William, Princess Catherine, and their three children to attend Lilibet's birthday at Frogmore Cottage. It was an opportunity for the former "fab four" to settle their acrimony. But William and Catherine declined the invite, apparently due to the former's distrust of his brother following his various tell-all media appearances. "Things are still fraught — William is still wary of spending any time alone with Harry as you never quite know what may be reported back afterwards," a source told Page Six.
The snub was a difficult one for Harry and Meghan Markle, as they hoped their children would befriend their cousins. "William and Kate made no effort at all to introduce Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to [Lili]," royal author Christopher Andersen told Us Weekly. "As far as I know, nobody believes they spoke [to one another]."
Though William and Catherine declined an invite, Lilibet did get to celebrate her special day among other members of the royal family, with Zara and Mike Tindall attending the party with their three children. Moreover, Lilibet got to meet great-grandmother Elizabeth during her parents' visit to the U.K., though the monarch reportedly didn't want to publicize the meeting.
The Sussex kids reportedly weren't on the queen's Balmoral guestlist
Every summer, Queen Elizabeth II would travel to Balmoral, her vacation home and favorite residence. In July 2022, signs of a reconciliation between the Sussexes and the working royals appeared underway, with Balmoral providing the perfect meeting ground for the family to squash their beef.
According to a report by The Sun, Elizabeth added Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and their two children to the guestlist of her summer retreat in Balmoral. "Staff have been told to expect the full list of royals including Harry, Meghan and their children Archie and Lilibet," an insider claimed. "They are preparing for the Sussexes." At first, there was speculation over whether Harry and Meghan would even show up. "If Harry and Meghan accept the Queen's invitation to Balmoral it will be out of necessity," royal expert Kinsey Schofield told the Daily Star. "Megxit was one thing but the Oprah interview was an entirely different level of betrayal ... No one else really has any interest in having the Sussexes around so yes, they must jump at any opportunity they have to still appear to be in the fold."
However, several sources later alleged to Page Six that the Sussexes were not added to the guestlist in the first place. It's unknown why Harry and Meghan were apparently omitted from the guestlist, but it may have had something to do with the rebel prince's explosive upcoming memoir.
The palace declined to give Archie and Lilibet HRH designations
Following the births of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, there was considerable discussion around the children's eligibility for royal titles. Although Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made the decision to step away from royal duties, thereby relinquishing their HRH titles, they believed that their children should not be robbed of the opportunity to have royal titles themselves. Since the Sussex kids are royals by birth, they ought to have been eligible for HRH designations at the discretion of the reigning monarch, as well as being referred to as prince and princess.
But when King Charles III ascended the throne in September 2022, there was a significant delay in bestowing Archie and Lilibet prince and princess titles; rather, when the line of succession was modified, they were merely referred to as "master" and "miss." Prior to her death, Queen Elizabeth II also declined to change her great-children's titles.
After some time, Charles granted Archie and Lilibet prince and princess titles, as opposed to the HRH honorific. "They have been left furious that Archie and Lilibet cannot take the title HRH," an insider told The Sun. Moreover, Harry and Meghan were deeply hurt by the delay in giving their children their royal designations, which they deemed reflective of the palace treating them like second-class citizens. "They see the way their children are treated differently and that's hard to feel comfortable with," a royal insider told Omid Scobie in his book "Endgame."
King Charles did not attend his granddaughter's christening
However fractured King Charles III's relationship with Prince Harry may be, one wouldn't expect the monarch to extend this animosity towards his grandchildren. But when Charles didn't attend Princess Lilibet's christening in March 2023, the level of estrangement between father and son became resoundingly clear. Along with Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Princess Catherine, Charles had been invited to fly to Los Angeles for the toddler's christening, which was attended by her maternal grandmother, Doria Ragland; Hollywood powerhouse Tyler Perry; and Princess Diana's two sisters, Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale.
Charles and William allegedly didn't attend the christening due to both their packed schedules and logistics. "To have the two most senior royals and their wives fly to the States for Lilibet's christening would have been a massive operation both in terms of security and planning," an insider told the Mirror.
Accordingly, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were criticized for holding their daughter's christening in California in the first place, with some arguing that they could have waited to baptize Lilibet in the Church of England prior to the king's coronation. "Harry and Meghan can try and claim the moral high ground by letting it be known that they invited the King, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales to the christening but they are just playing games," said royal author Phil Dampier, per the Daily Mail. "They know there wasn't a hope in hell of any of them going."
A posthumous tribute to the queen excluded Archie and Lilibet
In April 2023, Prince William and Princess Catherine paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II on what would have been her 97th birthday. In what some may have perceived as an overt snub, William and Catherine marked the occasion with an Instagram upload of the queen posing with her great-grandchildren — including Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, as well as Zara and Mike Tindall's children — but Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet were nowhere to be seen. While other royal great-grandchildren, such as Princess Beatrice's daughter Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, were also absent from the snap, photographer Princess Catherine was able to subtly still make her feel included, seemingly including a framed photo of Mozzi in the background. The same could not be said for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children, however.
Poignantly, the photo was taken during the queen's Balmoral summer retreat in 2022, which the Sussex kids were reportedly not invited to. Accordingly, Archie and Lilibet's absence from the photograph perhaps signifies the extent of their parents' increasing ostracization from the royal family.
The royal family didn't publicly acknowledge Princess Lilibet's birthday
There was total silence from The Firm when Princess Lilibet turned 2 in 2023. However, insiders insisted to Us Weekly that Lilibet was not snubbed; rather, the royals were merely following protocol — or lack thereof. "There is no and has never been protocol for wishing happy birthdays to non-working members of the royal family," a source said. Except, the royal family did wish Lilibet a happy birthday back in 2022, despite her non-working status.
Subsequently, royal experts argued that the palace's silence on Lilibet's special day reflected a shift in the internal atmosphere of The Firm following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. As royal commentator RS Locke told The Independent, the 2022 birthday tribute to Lilibet was likely the queen's idea, since she maintained a close relationship with Prince Harry, and, by extension, his children. Indeed, throughout his controversial media trail, including his explosive sit-down with Oprah Winfrey and tell-all memoir, Harry never had a bad word to say about his grandmother. Neither did Meghan Markle, who always praised Elizabeth for making her feel welcome.
But in the wake of Her Majesty's death, King Charles III had seemingly implemented stricter rules about birthday tributes. "King Charles's decision not to publicly acknowledge his granddaughter's birthday, nor Prince Archie's last month, is a reflection of their strained relationship and likely an indication of the social media practices going forward," Locke said.
Harry and Meghan's children allegedly weren't invited to the coronation
King Charles III's coronation, held in May 2023, was a family-friendly affair. While Prince William and Princess Catherine's kids were present, with future fashion icon Princess Charlotte stealing the spotlight at the coronation, the Sussex children were nowhere to be seen.
Prince Harry was a solitary figure at the coronation, heading back on a plane to be with his family soon after the ceremony ended. According to sources who spoke to The Daily Beast, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet allegedly weren't invited to the coronation or any of the related events, as the king feared that the inevitable bad press would have overshadowed his special day.
However, others claimed that Meghan Markle made the decision not to appear at the coronation with Archie and Lilibet, and Charles was saddened that his grandchildren would not be in attendance. If this is the case, it should be noted that the Sussex children were still allegedly snubbed, as they apparently weren't offered roles in the coronation. "Charles has to be very relieved and pleased that his second son will be there, even if Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet won't," said royal author Christopher Andersen. "This doesn't mean Archie and Lilibet won't be welcomed into the royal fold at some future date ... The king must feel a connection to Harry and Meghan's children. But first all parties have to find a way to mend the torn relationship between the Sussexes and the rest of the clan."
Prince Archie didn't get a public birthday tribute from the royals
In May 2024, Prince Archie reportedly enjoyed a low-key 5th birthday party with Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, and his maternal grandmother. But he didn't receive a public birthday tribute from the royal family. As with Princess Lilibet's apparent birthday snub, the royals were reportedly simply following protocol, the likes of which, insiders explained, doesn't single out the Sussex kids. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals in 2020, and no longer carry out royal duties," royal correspondent Danielle Stacey told Hello! magazine. "Similarly, the palace doesn't typically share messages on the likes of Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and Zara Tindall's birthdays nor their children's special days." It should be noted, however, that the royal family has publicly wished Beatrice a happy birthday in the past, though only when Queen Elizabeth II was alive.
Despite not publicly acknowledging his grandson's birthday, King Charles III was reportedly still keen on sending Archie a heartfelt gift. Charles, who is an avid amateur painter, apparently wanted to send Archie one of his watercolors. But even this gesture wasn't drama-free. "King Charles and his team are desperately worried that whatever the king sends to his grandson may be misinterpreted by Harry and Meghan," royal expert Tom Quinn told the Mirror. "Charles famously gave Prince George a beautiful hand-made swing engraved on the seat with George's name, but Harry has told him repeatedly that this sort of present is too grand for Archie."