Prince Harry gave Queen Elizabeth just 15 minutes notice before he publicly declared he’d be skipping his grandfather’s upcoming memorial service, senior royal aides told The Sun.
Harry confirmed Friday that he would miss the March 29 memorial services for his grandfather, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who died on April 9, 2021 at age 99.
The prince, who has been pushing for security to be provided for his family during any visit to the UK, cited safety concerns as the reason they would skip the memorial.
“The Duke [of Sussex] will not be returning to the UK in late March, but hopes to visit his grandmother as soon as possible,” the Prince said in the statement. Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their two children live in California.
Meghan and Harry’s second child, Lilibet, was born June 4, 2021. The prince’s refusal to travel overseas means that chances are now slim the Queen, 95, will ever meet her great-granddaughter, sources told The Sun.
“He has snubbed the Duke of Edinburgh but really he is snubbing the Queen,” said Harry biographer Angela Levin. “He’ll probably use this same excuse to try to get out of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.”
The 75th anniversary of Elizabeth’s rule will be celebrated with a four-day bank holiday in the UK June 2-5.
Levin claimed the snub is especially egregious when the Queen is still “grieving” the loss of her husband of nearly 75 years.
