King Charles III snubbed his son Prince Harry once again by throwing a mandatory party for royal family members during the Duke of Sussex’s Invictus Games service just a few miles away.
“King Charles ordered all working royals (including Princess Anne and Prince Edward, and excluding Prince William and Kate Middleton) to attend a garden party for 5,000 people at Buckingham Palace taking place at the same time,” veteran royal reporter Tom Sykes of the Daily Beast reported.
Charles’ lavish soirée took place Wednesday on the great lawn of the palace in London, while Prince William threw an impressive event at Windsor Castle earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, Harry rolled up solo to his event at St. Paul’s Cathedral without any royal relatives showing up to support him.
Instead, Damian Lewis was the most notable guest at the ceremony. The actor recited William Ernest Henley’s poem “Invictus,” which the prince’s organization is named after.
“Charles has made it quite clear he is ready to be friendly and supportive to Harry in his capacity as a private person, as his dad, but he is not going to throw the weight of the institution behind Invictus again,” a former courtier told Sykes.
“This all seems very logical inside the palace bubble, but the trouble is that people who don’t particularly care about such things, who are dimly aware that the royals spend their days visiting community centers and opening supermarkets, are going to wonder why they are boycotting this terrific charity that is headed by the king’s son.”
The insider said many people believe the family’s absence from Harry’s event is a “classic example” of them “cutting off their nose to spite their face.”
“Invictus is clearly exactly the kind of organization the royal family should be supporting,” the courtier added. “If a bridge is ever going to be built [between Harry and the royals], Invictus is the bridgehead to build it from, and they should get on and do it.”
A military source agreed that it is a shame Charles has distanced himself from the Invictus Games, which works with wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women.
“Some people feel it’s not fair to deny the foundation proper royal endorsement. It was explicitly set up as an organization endorsed by the royal family, but now it’s not,” the source noted.
The father-son duo did not see each other during Harry’s return home to London, signaling that they are still working through their issues amid Charles’ cancer battle.
Earlier this week, a rep for Harry said the reigning monarch was too busy to meet with his youngest son.
Harry, 39, and Charles, 75, have been on the outs since the “Spare” author resigned from his royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, where he and his wife, Meghan Markle, have been building a media empire.
While Harry has remained dedicated to helping injured veterans, Markle, 42, recently launched her own lifestyle company, American Riviera Orchard.
The Sussexes’ rep did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
