Prince Harry snubs dinner with Charles and William after Queen’s death

Prince Harry is said to have refused to dine with King Charles and Prince William following Queen Elizabeth’s death – and it all came down to one thing.

Prince Harry refused to attend a dinner with his father, King Charles and brother Prince William at Balmoral, after Meghan was banned from joining the family the day the Queen died.

The Sun reports the Duke of Sussex insisted his wife be present on September 8, however his father phoned to advise him it wasn’t appropriate.

Prince Harry then missed at RAF flight to Scotland with Princes William, Andrew and Edward, and was subsequently told to make his own travel arrangements.

The Duke of Sussex landed at Aberdeen without Markle just minutes after the Queen’s death was announced. After being driven into Balmoral he snubbed dinner at Birkhall, King Charles’ home on the estate.

Instead, The Sun reports the prince mourned with Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex, and Prince Andrew at Balmoral Castle.

“Harry was so busy trying to get Meghan to Balmoral and rowing with his family that he missed the flight,” a source reportedly said.

“Charles has an open invitation for Harry to dine with him whenever he is in the country.

“But Harry was so furious that he refused to eat with his father and brother.

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

PRINCE HARRY READ ABOUT THE QUEEN’S DEATH ONLINE

Prince Harry only found out about Queen Elizabeth’s death by reading online reports, according to palace sources.

Previous reports suggested the Duke of Sussex was called to the Queen’s Balmoral retreat in Scotland by his father, Charles, in the morning.

But the New York Post reports a palace insider confirmed no one from the royal family, or any courtiers, actually called Prince Harry to tell him of the monarch’s death. Instead he found out she had died after he landed in Scotland late in the afternoon.

It comes as royal insiders said the Sussexes were a “source of sadness” for the Queen during her last summer in Scotland.

Prince Harry, pictured with Meghan Markle at the Queen’s funeral, was ‘wracked by guilt’ at missing the big sleepover. Picture: AFP

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle reportedly rejected an invitation to Balmoral Castle for the Queen’s “big sleepover” at the end of August for the late monarch to see all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren for the last time.

“It was a source of sadness to the Queen that she got to see so little of Archie and Lilibet and that Harry and Meghan were not able to join her for a weekend at Balmoral in August,” according to royal author Katie Nicholl.

It would have been the last time the 96-year-old saw her two great-grandchildren, Archie Harrison, 3, and Lilibet Diana, 1, before she died just a couple of weeks later on September 8.

The Queen with Prince Philip meeting Archie before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved to the US. Picture: Getty Images

The Queen only briefly spent time with Archie before he moved to the US, and only met Lilibet for the first time when Prince Harry and Ms Markle returned to the UK for a visit in June.

The US-based couple, who were also invited to Birkhall with the then-Prince Charles, turned down the offers and instead embarked on a pseudo-royal tour of London and Europe, leaving Archie and Lilibet behind in California.

The heartbreaking claims were made in Ms Nichol’s upcoming new book, The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown.

Ms Nichol claimed the Sussex’s decision to move their family to the United States after stepping down from the royal family left the Queen exhausted by the turmoil of the move, according to a “close to the King”.

“She was very hurt and told me, ‘I don’t know, I don’t care, and I don’t want to think about it anymore’,” the source told Ms Nichol for her new book, an excerpt of which is published in the October issue of Vanity Fair.

Prince Harry with Meghan Markle and baby Archie. Picture: Getty Images

Prince Harry was reportedly “wracked by guilt” over the lost opportunity for the family to spend one last summer sleepover together.

“No one had any idea just how sick the Queen was in her final days, and Harry is devastated that he did not take her up on this invite,” a royal insider told RadarOnline after the Queen’s death.

“If he did know she was not going to live, of course, he would have made a different decision.”

Prince Harry made a mad dash to Balmoral in a last-ditch effort to see his beloved grandmother, but he didn’t arrive until hours after she passed away.

“Harry knows his grandmother desperately wanted to see him, and while he and Meghan made the decision because they didn’t necessarily want to see the rest of the family, the opportunity to see the Queen is a prospect that has left him distraught,” the insider added.

Originally published as Prince Harry snubs dinner with Charles and William after Queen’s death