Charles and William are believed to have come to a decision about Harry (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Inviting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Balmoral this summer was never a realistic consideration, a leading royal author believes.
King Charles and Prince William reportedly came together and agreed things were just too challenging following a demanding year for the Firm with both the monarch and Princess Kate currently undergoing treatment for cancer. The Princess of Wales is set to join the royal family for their traditional summer trip at Balmoral later this month, marking her longest journey since her diagnosis. Prince William and Kate are regular visitors to the incredible 50,000-acre Royal Deeside estate, having spent every summer there since their wedding in 2011. Some royal observers believe the holiday to Scotland represented the perfect opportunity to extend an invite to Harry and Meghan but it is understood the Sussexes will not be returning to the UK
The ‘last thing the family needs is Harry at Balmoral’ a top royal author says ( Image:
Getty Images)
Author and Royal expert Tom Quinn told the Mirror that he doesn’t believe Harry and the King are currently speaking – and that the Duke attending what is hoped will be a peaceful escape is just not what any members of the family want. “With Kate and Charles in a difficult place, the last thing the family needs is Harry at Balmoral. Everyone knows that it couldn’t be done without also inviting Meghan and that is a step too far,” said the writer, who penned Scandals of the Royal Palaces: An Intimate Memoir of Royals Behaving Badly.
The author said: “Meghan has always been seen as the main driving force behind Harry’s public attacks on the family. William and Charles know that inviting Harry without Meghan is just to give Harry another subject for the sequel to Spare that Harry is writing.” Princess Kate will be joining her husband and their three children on holiday in north-east Scotland, along with her parents-in-law, King Charles and Queen Camilla. Her decision to make the long journey could be seen as further reassurance that she is making good progress after her diagnosis.
William has been holidaying in Balmoral ever since he was a child and Kate began joining him once they married in 2011. George, Charlotte and Louis, like their dad, have also been making the annual trip to Scotland since their births. The estate has played an important role in William’s life as it is where he has some of his happiest childhood memories – and also his saddest.
Both he and younger brother Prince Harry were at Balmoral in 1997 when they received the devastating news their mother Princess Diana had died. When the late Queen died in 2022, William alluded to the special times at Balmoral, especially the ones he has been able to enjoy there with his children.
