A source close to the Sussexes stressed they had done everything expected of them during the period of mourning and were determined to keep the focus on the late Queen. Photo / Getty Images
A source close to the Sussexes stressed they had done everything expected of them during the period of mourning and were determined to keep the focus on the late Queen. Photo / Getty Images
OPINION:
When they "stepped back" as senior members of the Royal family in January 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex dreamed of a "progressive new role" within the monarchy that would see them "work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen".
What we have witnessed since Queen Elizabeth II's death, though, is Harry and Meghan being offered a form of "half in, half out" royalty, far from the cake-and-eat-it scenario they originally envisaged.
The news the couple accidentally received an invitation to tonight's "state reception of the century" at Buckingham Palace only to have it rescinded at the last minute shows they may have a discretionary "in" for family occasions but for major events involving world leaders, they are well and truly "out".
As they have been reunited with the royals this week, a distinction has been clearly drawn between what the "non-working" Sussexes can be involved with as "much loved members of the family" and what their inferior status allows in terms of state set pieces, which is seemingly very little.
King Charles spelled it out in his first speech when he drew the distinction between "our new Prince and Princess of Wales continuing to inspire and lead our national conversations" and Harry and Meghan "continuing to build their lives overseas".
Failing to feature among the 1000-strong guest list for one of the biggest palace events in living memory does rather drive home the reality that they remain very much on the outside looking in. Indeed, the last-minute nature of the "un-invitation" suggests communications with the palace aren't what they used to be.
In denying them the opportunity to rub shoulders with the likes of Joe Biden and Jacinda Ardern, the palace powers-that-be have reasonably decided there is a time and a place for Harry and Meghan - and it is not at the biggest diplomatic reception ever hosted by a monarch.
Harry and Meghan have been denied the opportunity to rub shoulders with the likes of Joe Biden and Jacinda Ardern, pictured with King Charles III. Photo / Getty Images
As a fellow non-working royal, the Duke of York is unsurprisingly not attending either.
Yet in withdrawing the offer to the Sussexes, the so-called men in grey suits may also have been mindful that the increasingly politicised nature of some of their recent interventions - from encouraging people to vote in America to the Duke's comments on gun control - may not sit with the non-partisan nature of the gathering.
The snub will be a blow, however, not only to the Duke as fifth in line to the throne and the King's son, but also the Duchess, who has tried to reposition herself as a global powerhouse, on a par with former First Lady Michelle Obama.
Before she married Harry in 2018, the former actress made a lot of her high-level connections, posting a photograph of herself speaking to Justin Trudeau on Instagram and forging a close friendship with Jessica Mulroney, daughter-in-law of Brian Mulroney, a predecessor of Mr Trudeau as prime minister of Canada in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Having been tipped as a potential future Democratic presidential nominee, Meghan, 41, wrote a letter last October to Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, and Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, advocating for paid family leave. She would have delighted in pressing the flesh with President Biden (not least after she managed to swerve Donald Trump's state visit in 2019, having described the former president as "misogynistic" and "divisive".)
A source points out that Harry and Meghan have done everything that was asked of them in the days following the Queen's death: "They have turned up, they have smiled, shaken hands, whatever was asked." Photo / Getty Images
Although Harry did not personally intervene over the decision to ban him from wearing military uniform, claiming he was happy to wear whatever his grandmother had requested, the couple do appear quite put out by the reception rebuff.
A source close to the Sussexes stressed they had done everything expected of them during the period of mourning and were determined to keep the focus on the late Queen.
"They have turned up, they have smiled, shaken hands, whatever was asked," the source said.
Yet the harsh reality of royal life is that if your name's not down on the official House of Windsor team sheet, you're not coming in.
