Prince Harry has been snubbed by a close royal family friend over invitations to his society wedding set to be held next year, though the Prince and Princess of Wales have been included, a report from London has claimed.
Hugh Grosvenor, the seventh duke of Westminster is a godson of King Charles III and inherited his title and an estimated £9 billion ($11 billion) at the age of 25 upon the death of his father in 2016.
Grosvenor is a godfather to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s eldest son, Prince George, and according to a report from The Times published on December 2, is also a godfather to Harry and Meghan Markle’s eldest son, Prince Archie.
Grosvenor announced his engagement to Olivia Henson in April 2023, and the couple are set to marry in one of the largest society weddings of the year at Chester cathedral in June 2024.
According to the report filed by royal editor for The Times, Roya Nikkhah, the duke had “wanted the Sussexes to attend his wedding and originally planned to invite them,” however was conscious that the ongoing royal rift between Harry and William risked “overshadowing the day.”
The report claimed that William, Kate, Charles and Queen Camilla are all expected to attend the celebrations.
So far, the report has not been confirmed by either the Duke of Westminster or Duke of Sussex. Newsweek approached representatives of both via email for comment.
Prince Harry (left) in London on March 30, 2023. Hugh Grosvenor, the duke of Westminster (right), in England on August 4, 2018. Reports from Britain suggest that Harry has been snubbed by Grosvenor over an invite to his 2024 wedding, despite being a godfather to Prince Archie.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Reflecting on the report, royal commentator, Richard Fitzwilliams told Newsweek that the news was understandable given the recent media storm caused by a new book published by a biographer with links to Meghan and Harry, revealing new details about the alleged “royal racism” row.
“The Duke of Westminster is Harry’s childhood friend and he is also Archie’s godfather. Nevertheless, it would have been unthinkable to ask the Sussexes to what will undoubtedly be the society wedding of the year after the bizarre ‘royal racism’ row,” he said.
This reference is linked to the publication of Omid Scobie’s Endgame book and a Dutch translation which appeared to name two royals connected with discussions about the skin color of Harry and Meghan’s future children, which were first revealed in the couple’s 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Scobie wrote that he knew the names of the two royals mentioned in a letter exchange between Charles and Meghan about the alleged conversation, but could not print them due to U.K. laws. How the names were included in the Dutch translation remains unknown. Scobie has claimed he did not include them in his manuscript submission.
In the days after the book’s publication, the revival in interest in alleged “royal racists” has seen backlash refocused on the monarchy, though both Buckingham Palace and representatives for Harry and Meghan have not made an official statement in response.
“It isn’t just the media hype, it’s the principle,” Fitzwilliams said, noting that Scobie “could not explain how the names of senior royals came to be mentioned in the Dutch copy of Endgame. There has been silence from Montecito ever since. This is correctly seen as betrayal and more doors will be closed to the couple as the weeks and months pass.”
Montecito refers to Harry and Meghan’s California mansion in the city situated around 90 miles up the coast from Los Angeles.
The claim that Grosvenor is Archie’s godfather came as speculation still surrounds the list of the prince’s godparents which was not made public at the time of his 2019 christening, which was held at Windsor Castle.
Harry and Meghan faced public backlash in Britain at the time of the christening as it was announced that no video footage from the day was to be shot and that the names of the godparents would not be made public.
Archie’s birth and the christening came at a time where Meghan in particular was facing increased hostility from the U.K. media.
Reports that she had made her sister-in-law Kate cry at the time of the 2018 royal wedding over bridesmaids dresses were published eight months before the christening, marking what she later described as a “turning point” in her treatment by the tabloid media.
On the day of the christening, the couple released two official photographs through their social media page, with one showing a family group, including the senior royals and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, as well as Harry’s maternal aunts, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes.
With the images, a press release from Buckingham Palace stated that “the godparents, in keeping with their wishes, will remain private.”
To date, the list of godparents has not been confirmed by Harry or Meghan, though Nikkhah for The Times previously reported that former royal nanny Alexandra “Tiggy” Pettifer and former aide to Charles, Mark Dyer, are counted among them.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek’s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek’s The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.
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