Prince Harry, Meghan Markle were ‘not welcome’ at LA BAFTA event: report

Despite being just kilometres away, the couple was reportedly snubbed from the guest list of a glitzy BAFTA event – with fears of a “PR disaster” due to its links with William.

Prince Harry and Meghan at the 2021 Salute To Freedom Gala in New York City. Picture: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images/AFP

The tea was too hot for this party.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly were “not welcome” at the star-studded 2023 BAFTA Tea Party in Los Angeles on Saturday amid their drama with the royal family.

“BAFTA decided it was a terrible idea [to invite them],” a consultant for the charitable organisation claimed to The Sun, adding, “They thought it would be a PR disaster.”

The source pointed out that Harry’s estranged brother, Prince William, is the president of BAFTA, so executives allegedly felt that extending an invitation to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for the annual event would be a mistake, reports the New York Post.

“For them to roll out the red carpet to Harry and his wife would be like setting off a nuclear bomb. It’s a no-go,” the insider told the British newspaper, adding that Harry “roundly attacked” his family in both his Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, as well as his memoir, Spare.

Additionally, the prospect of Harry, 38, or Markle, 41, speaking about William, 40, at the event was enough to keep them off the guest list, according to the report.

“Any interviews would go viral,” the source concluded. “Anything negative on William would be devastating.”

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were reportedly kept off the guest list for the BAFTA Tea Party in LA. Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images

A spokesman for the Prince of Wales declined to comment to The Sun, while a BAFTA rep tells Page Six that the Sussexes’ “attendance was not discussed whatsoever.”

The BAFTA Tea Party is a “staple fixture in the Los Angeles awards season calendar,” according to the charity’s website, which states, “The BAFTA Tea Party welcomes nominees, members and guests for a uniquely elegant gathering.”

This year, stars including Angela Bassett, Brendan Fraser, Michelle Williams and Cate Blanchett attended the glamorous evening at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills.

Angela Bassett arrives for the BAFTA Tea Party in LA on January 14, 2023. Picture: Michael Tran/AFP

Harry and Markle moved to her native California after quitting their royal duties in January 2020. They currently reside in Montecito with their two children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1.

Despite their physical proximity to the event, William’s connection to BAFTA was apparently enough to prevent the Archewell co-founders from attending.

William is the President of BAFTA (pictured here attending the Awards ceremony in 2020 with Kate Middleton).

William has served as the president of BAFTA since February 2010 and often attends the awards show with his wife, Kate Middleton.

Harry ripped into William and Middleton, 41, in his new book, causing even more tension between the brothers.

The red-headed royal claimed the heir apparent had physically attacked him in 2019 after they got into an argument about Markle.

Harry also blamed William and Middleton for convincing him to wear a Nazi uniform to a 2005 costume party and doubled down on previous claims that the Princess of Wales made Markle cry in the days leading up to the Sussexes’ 2018 wedding.

Additionally, the book included claims about Harry’s father, King Charles III, and his stepmother, Queen Consort Camilla.

The 76th British Academy Film Awards will take place in London on February 19.

Reps for the Sussexes did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission