According to former royal staffer Paul Burrell, the Queen had invited the Sussexes to celebrate Lilibet’s birthday. Photo / AP
According to former royal staffer Paul Burrell, the Queen had invited the Sussexes to celebrate Lilibet’s birthday. Photo / AP
An ex-staffer of Queen Elizabeth II has alleged that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle snubbed the late Queen’s invitation to celebrate Princess Lilibet’s 1st birthday with her.
“Even on Lilibet’s 1st birthday, the Queen didn’t see her,” the royal’s one-time footman Paul Burrell revealed to The Mirror on Friday.
“She saw her the day before. But on her birthday, the Queen had a birthday cake made with one candle in it. And they never turned up. That candle was never lit.”
However, an insider has slammed the claims, saying there is “no truth” to Burrell’s story, reports Page Six.
“They did see the Queen to celebrate Lili’s birthday,” the source says.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in the UK to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, which coincided with their second child’s 1st birthday.
Photos of Lilibet from her 1st birthday. Photo / Misan Harriman
Harry, 38, and Markle, 42, reportedly marked their daughter’s big day with a laidback garden party at Frogmore Cottage - their first home in Windsor that was gifted to them by the Queen after they were married. Other members of the royal family, such as Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, along with their children, were in attendance.
That day, the Queen was set to attend the Epsom Derby in Surrey as part of her Jubilee celebrations but was forced to pull out due to her ill health at the time.
According to Burrell, the monarch had extended an invitation to Harry and Markle to celebrate Lilibet’s birthday. However, she was allegedly snubbed by the couple.
“The next day, she asked if maybe they’d like to come up for tea again and was told they’ve gone,” the former Buckingham Palace employee claimed. “‘What do you mean they’ve gone?’ she said. ‘They’ve gone back to America.’ ‘Oh no, they never said goodbye.’”
Burrell further alleged that Queen Elizabeth was “confused” as to why the Sussexes, who also share 4-year-old son Prince Archie, decided to leave the UK with such haste.
Paul Burrell, a member Of The Queen's Staff, carrying One Of The Queen's Corgis off The Royal Flight Aircraft returning from Balmoral after the Summer Holidays. Photo / Getty Images
“How could you offend our Queen? Well, I don’t understand anyone that could do that. Not her family, why would you want to?” he said. “She was devoid of jealousy, anger, envy, all those traits that we associate with other people she didn’t have. She was just a very simple soul. I wish the world could have known her the way I knew her.”
Despite the alleged snub, the Queen expressed her birthday wishes for her great-granddaughter on Twitter.
“Wishing Lilibet a very Happy 1st Birthday!” the longest-reigning British monarch shared on social media.
Harry’s now-estranged brother, Prince William, also marked Lilibet’s big birthday on Twitter. He and his wife, Kate Middleton, tweeted, “Wishing a very happy birthday to Lilibet, turning one today!”
Meghan Markle with her husband, Prince Harry, and their children, Archie, three, and Lilibet, one. Photo / Twitter
Tensions have been high between William and Harry ever since the the Duke of Sussex released his tell-all memoir, Spare, in January. In the book, he claims his older brother started a physical altercation with him, knocking him to the floor.
What’s more, Harry and Meghan have repeatedly slammed the royal family in multiple interviews over the years after stepping back from their royal duties in 2020 and immigrating to Montecito, California.
However, the Duke of Sussex has only ever spoken kindly about the late Queen. On Thursday, the royal honoured her life ahead of the first anniversary of her passing while presenting at the WellChild Awards.
Matt James, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Craig Hatch and Sally Jackson attend the 2023 WellChild Awards at The Hurlingham Club. Photo / Getty Images
“As you know, I was unable to attend the awards last year as my grandmother passed away,” he told the audience at the charity benefit. “As you also probably know, she would have been the first person to insist that I still come to be with you all instead of going to her.
“And that’s precisely why I know, exactly one year on, that she is looking down on all of us tonight, happy we’re together, continuing to spotlight such an incredible community.”
