The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be aware that missing the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service for Prince Philip made them look “stubborn and rude”, a royal expert has claimed.
Prince Harry, 37, and Meghan Markle, 40, were notable in their absence as the Queen, 95, joined senior royals, politicians, European royals and friends, who gathered at Westminster Abbey to pay tribute to Prince Philip.
The couple, who live in Montecito, California, with their son Archie, two, and daughter Lilibet, nine months, announced in March that they would not be coming to the UK for the memorial service.
The 37-year-old Duke is pursuing a legal action against the Home Office after being told he would no longer receive the “same level” of personal safety security if he visited from the US, despite offering to pay for it himself.
Prince Harry, 37, and Meghan Markle, 40, conspicuous in their absence as Queen, 95, The royal family, politicians, European royals and friends gathered at Westminster Abbey earlier this week to pay homage to the Duke of Edinburgh ( pictured at the 53rd NAACP Image Awards Show in LA in February)
Royal author and editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine Ingrid Seward, who wrote Prince Philip Revealed, told The Mirror the couple had “missed an opportunity” by not attending the service.
She added that they were aware of the visuals of their decision not to attend and it made them look “irritated and rude.”
“Harry must have known it would look irritated and rude. And if he hadn’t done it, Meghan would have done it,” she said.
“The wall of silence was as loud as if they had shouted from the abbey rafters. The usually talkative Duke and Duchess of Sussex said nothing.’
The expert pointed out that the couple, who have spoken about royal milestones in the past, were noticeably quiet on Tuesday, refraining from addressing the event on their social media or through their spokesperson, and no flowers to display at the Abbey sent.
The Queen was escorted to her seat by Prince Andrew, 63, on Tuesday as she arrived for the funeral service
Seward also criticized the prince for not providing a statement when announcing a few weeks ago that he and Meghan would not be attending the service.
The royal author did not believe the argument that the king feared for his and his wife’s safety because Westminster Abbey was peppered with security agents and police protecting the royal family and politicians present.
She added that the couple’s presence would not have distracted from the Queen, who was the focus of the event, calling her absence a “missed opportunity” for the couple to reunite with their relatives and for Archie, his cousins to meet.
Prince Harry was the only royalty not to attend Prince Philip’s funeral on Tuesday. Controversially, Prince Andrew starred in his first public appearance since agreeing to an out-of-court settlement with Jeffrey Epstein’s victim, Virginia Giuffre
She concluded that Harry will long have regrets for not attending the event, which was his last chance to pay his respects to his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, and that he too often insults too many officials Has.
However, royal biographer Angela Levin questioned whether Harry would ever acknowledge his “appalling behavior” after being the only major royal figure not to attend Philip’s memorial service.
“He’s such a changed person, it’s hard to know if he’ll even regret not taking part,” she told The Sun. “The Harry I interviewed was caring, kind and instinctive. Today he is so full of resentment and “me me me”.
“He doesn’t seem to have a larger area to take care of things unless they concern him and Meghan.
“Many overseas royals have bothered, but Harry’s pathetic excuse is that he didn’t feel safe. The police would have covered it completely. The royal children were all there, the heirs to the throne, so it just doesn’t make sense that the protection wouldn’t be there.
Royal biographer Angela Levin questioned whether Harry would ever acknowledge his “appalling behavior” after being the only major royal figure not to attend Philip’s memorial service
Prince Harry’s security concerns were also criticized on Tuesday by Richard Griffin, who served as royal protection officer for Prince Philip for 14 years.
Mr Griffin said: “Prince Philip was her grandfather so obviously William received a great education from him and will learn by example from him. I just hope Harry gets some of those things on his mind.
‘It [Harry not being here] was a big disappointment for everyone. People talked about it. Certainly people around me, where I was, were saying that he should have been here.
“All this nonsense about not being able to get protection was a pathetic excuse for me. He should have been here to honor his grandfather.
“At the end of the day if he was that worried about safety he could have stayed with his brother and father who have wonderful safety and he would have been more than safe.”
Other royal observers also criticized Harry for being the only senior royal to miss the Prince Philip tribute, with GMB presenter Richard Madeley asking: “What is he playing on?”
Prince Harry and Prince Philip at the Rugby World Cup in Twickenham on October 31, 2015
Harry last returned to the UK eight months ago to unveil the statue of his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, with his brother Prince William in London on July 1.
However, he plans to fly to The Hague, The Netherlands, in two weeks’ time to compete in the Invictus Games for injured military service that he is organizing.
The games will take place from April 16th to 22nd, which means that on the 21st, Harry would have the opportunity to visit his grandmother for her 96th birthday.
On March 11, a spokesman for the Duke confirmed he would not be returning to the UK for the service – but added that he hoped to be able to visit his grandmother soon.
In April 2021, Harry flew back from California without Meghan, who was heavily pregnant at the time, to attend Philip’s funeral at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
Royal author Phil Dampier told MailOnline ahead of the event: “It is very sad that Harry and Meghan will not be at the funeral for Prince Philip and I think Harry may regret it one day.
“He has said he doesn’t feel safe without the security of Scotland Yard, but to me that sounds like an excuse not to return to the UK and shows the rift with his blood family is still dire.
“Harry was always very fond of his grandfather and was deeply honored to succeed him as Captain General of the Royal Marines, but unfortunately it didn’t last long.
“The couple attended a few Memorial Day events together and there was always a relationship between them as both served military personnel who had seen active duty.”
Mr Dampier said that Harry “loved” Philip’s sense of humor and praised him in interviews, adding that it made his absence “all the more puzzling and odd”.
He continued: “One gets the impression that he is still very hurt by what happened between him and his father and brother and I’m sure they feel the same, but a memorial to his beloved grandfather too miss is tragic.
“Harry flew over for his funeral and the unveiling of the Diana statue but has not returned since.
“He will be at the Invictus Games in The Hague but there must now be great doubt as to whether he will attend any of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
“I’m sure the Queen is very upset that he isn’t coming tomorrow, but she realizes that she cannot get Harry to change his mind right now.”