Prince Harry to snub King Charles’ 75th birthday as relationship remains fractured

Prince Harry and King Charles have held a fractured relationship since the prince resigned from royal duties in 2020. Photo / AP

It seems Prince Harry has snubbed an olive branch extended by his father King Charles.

The Daily Mail has reported that while many friends and family are expected to join the monarch at his 75th birthday celebrations at Clarence House in London next week, one invited guest will not be making an appearance.

Speaking to the UK news outlet, insiders have claimed that while the Duke of Sussex – the youngest son of the King – has received an invitation to the event, he is unable to attend.

King Charles is having a 75th birthday party next week. Photo / AP

First reported by The Sunday Times, the reason for Harry’s absence is allegedly because he and Charles still “don’t speak much”. It was not revealed whether Meghan Markle and the couple’s two children, Archie, 4, and Lilibet, 2, were included on the invitation.

The snub is reportedly the second time Charles has reached out and been rejected by Harry. It was reported in September that despite receiving an invitation to join the family at Balmoral for the late Queen’s anniversary of her passing, Harry declined and instead visited the Queen’s grave at St George’s Chapel to pay his respects.

Charles and Harry’s relationship has remained fractured since the Prince made the decision to resign from his royal duties in 2020 and reportedly took a turn for the worst after the estranged prince released his bombshell memoir, Spare, in which he launched multiple attacks on his family – particularly Queen Camilla.

Branding her “dangerous” and a “villain”, a source spoke to The Daily Mail claiming Harry’s attack on the queen left Charles “disappointed”.

Despite attending his father's coronation in May, the prince has reportedly turned down two invitations to see his father and extended family in recent months. Photo / AP

The state of the pair’s relationship appeared to be confirmed in September when Harry celebrated his 38th birthday receiving no public acknowledgment from the royal family.

An insider later spoke to the Telegraph claiming the snub was both public and private as neither the King nor Prince William sent any well-wishes to Harry.

“Communications between the King and Prince Harry remain pretty poor. They don’t speak much, if at all,” the insider said.

It comes after news Omid Scobie - a close friend of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle - is set to release his second book, Endgame and, with it, a scathing attack on the royal family calling Prince William “power hungry” and King Charles “unpopular”.

The Daily Mail reported the 42-year-old author, who released his bestselling book Finding Freedom in 2020, is returning with yet another book this time presenting what he claims is an “investigation” into the current state of the British monarchy.

In a description on Amazon, the book claims to be “a penetrating investigation into the current state of the British monarchy – an unpopular king, a power-hungry heir to the throne, a queen willing to go to dangerous lengths to preserve her image and a prince forced to start a new life after being betrayed by his own family”.

Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, a source revealed the book is “bad, very bad” and while they admit it is “unlikely” royal aides will comment on the contents of the book, “if there are charges of racism, they will, of course, be robustly rebutted”.