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Prince Philip’s memorial service takes place today but two notable absences at Westminster Abbey will be Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The pair, still living in their California mansion, have cited safety concerns as the reason they havent flown over. A statement from Harry’s lawyer said that the prince 'does not feel safe' visiting the UK, as the Home Office are not willing to provide police protection, despite the Sussexes offering to cover the costs.
However, given that Harry will be travelling to the Netherlands in April for the Invictus Games (the international sports event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen), some royal experts believe the no show is really a silent retaliation against the Royal Family.
Katie Nicholl, author of Harry and Megan: Life, Loss and Love, tells Grazia that Harry ‘had a very cool welcome from his family when he came over for Philip’s funeral’ and that he wanted to bring Meghan and his two children over last summer for Lilibet’s christening - but that this plan never got the green light. ‘Not coming to England is a big deal. Harry has not been in the UK since last April and Meghan’s not been back since March 2020,’ Katie says. ‘I think it speaks volumes that he’s not coming for the service. It’s a snub to the queen and to his family and only fuels the speculation that there’s very little contact with William, and that both of them are resigned to their relationship being a distant one for now at least.’
Many of the Sussexes post-royal plans are on pause – perhaps understandably considering Lilibet is only nine months old and the couple were determined that Harry too would be seen to take some paternity leave. There has been no official update on their podcast with Spotify, although Spotify have posted job adverts for the project, hinting that the series will hear from ‘high-profile women’. Meanwhile, whilst the pair have been photographed with what appear to be microphone wires, their rumoured fly-on-the-wall reality show, after the pair signed a multi-million pound deal with Netflix, hasn’t yet materialised.
However, Katie believes that, maternity leave and royal rifts aside, there may be another reason Harry and Meghan are laying low. ‘One of the things I was told by a senior palace aide is that they were always in a hurry when they were working royals, and that they wanted things done immediately,’ she explains. ‘Possibly they’ve learned to take things at a slower and more considered pace. I’ve been told by people working closely with them that they know they need to get the next steps right in order for their future work to be a success, so they are deliberately taking their time.’