King Charles and Prince Harry in Sept. 2022.Photo: DAVID ROSE/POOL/AFP via Getty
Prince Harry’s spokesperson is setting the record straight about his attendance atKing Charles' upcoming birthday party.
The Sunday Timesreported over the weekend that King Charles will celebrate his 75th birthday next week at Clarence House, but his younger son would “not making the trip from California,” where he relocated in 2020 with his wife,Meghan Markle, and their family.
The ongoing rift between Prince Harry, 39, and his family has deepened since the release of the Duke of Sussex’s memoir,Spare,early this year. However,the Duke of Sussex traveled to the U.K. in Mayto attend his father’s coronation without his wife, whoremained in Californiato celebrate their son’s birthday, which fell on the same day.
Shortly after the crowning ceremony at Westminster Abbey, Prince Harryheaded to the airportto go home.
King Charles and Prince Harry in 2019.Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage
A close friend told PEOPLEahead of the coronation that Harry and Meghan received an email about the royal event from King Charles' office — and not from Harry’s father himself — and it became clear that the “sit-down” the prince sought to talk through their issueswasn’t going to happen.
“They didn’t hear from Charles. Harry wanted to hear from his father directly — it’s always through somebody,” the friend said.
For Prince Harry, his solo appearance at the coronation has to do with his desire to have, as he has stated, a “family,not an institution.”
“This is about a son showing up for his father rather than the optics of the institution,” the close friend said.
Prince Harry at King Charles' coronation in May 2023.Ben Stansall - WPA Pool/Getty Images
Colleen Harris, a former press secretary to the King and his sons, toldPEOPLE: “I am delighted that Prince Harry was there.He would have personally regretted itif he wasn’t there to support his father. Speaking as a mother, [I believe] it was the right thing . . . and the King [was] delighted.”
However, Prince Harry has made other trips to the U.K. where he did not see his father or brother,Prince William.
Most recently, the Duke of Sussex traveled to London to attend theWellChild Awardsin September, which alsoincluded a visitto his grandmotherQueen Elizabeth’s burial site in Windsor Castle on the first anniversary of her death. King Charles and Queen Camilla were in Scotland for the anniversary, while Prince William andKate Middletonmarked the occasionin Wales.
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Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Over the weekend, Prince Harry and Meghan, 42,traveled to Las Vegasto attend the final show ofKaty Perry’s Play residency.
The couple are neighbors with Perry and Orlando Bloom in Montecito, and Prince Harry previously revealed that he and thePirates of the Caribbeanactorstay in touchabout paparazzi sightings.
“Just two days ago, Orlando Bloom sent me a message — because he’s just down the road and we sort of keep in contact because of the paparazzi,” the Duke of Sussex said while appearing on Dax Shepard’sArmchair Expertpodcastin May 2021.
Not only did Perry attend King Charles' coronation ceremony, but she also performed at the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle the following day.
source: people.com
