The Duke and Duchess of Sussex resigned from their full royal duties in 2020 and now live in California. As Harry and Meghan returned to the UK for the Queen’s platinum anniversary, reports suggest there is still a rift between the royals and the Sussexes.
Royal biographer Andrew Lownie noted that Harry and Meghan’s situation is similar to that of King Edward VIII.
The former king married Wallis Simpson, an American who had divorced her first husband and was seeking a divorce from her second, sparking a constitutional crisis.
When it became clear that he could not marry Wallis and remain on the throne, Edward abdicated and became Duke of Windsor.
Mr Lownie said of Edward: “In 1936 he withdrew from royal duties to live abroad – but he never quite reconciled with his loss of status, and the ensuing years would be marked by a series of disputes with his family.”
In the New York Post, Mr. Lownie wrote; “The first (dispute) was over security, which Buckingham Palace thought the Duke of Windsor should pay for himself.
“Despite the bickering, he ultimately enjoyed police protection until his death – a privilege the Sussexes were given only in Britain.
“The second was about finance. Like Prince Harry, the Duke of Windsor had inherited considerable wealth – as well as savings earned from the estates of the Duchy of Cornwall – but it didn’t stop him from complaining, like Harry, that he was financially cut off.
Both issues contributed to a breach of trust and ongoing tension and suspicion with both the Duke and Harry complaining of poor parenting, sibling and sister-in-law arguments – King George VI’s wife Elizabeth could only call Wallis ‘That Woman’ . – and accusations that the ‘rogue state’ tried to outdo the dutiful.”
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It comes after reports that Harry has been invited to a joint birthday party for both Prince William, who turned 40 on June 21, and Kate Middleton, who turned 40 in January.
Royal pundit Neil Sean told The Daily Express: “According to a very good source, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, is very keen to have Harry invited.
†[Although] no mention of Meghan, I noted in the quote I was told.”