Prince Harry backed by Diana's brother and sister at Invictus party after 'busy' King Charles ‘snubbed’ meeting

PRINCE Harry received the support of Princess Diana’s siblings at his Invictus tournament yesterday – after being snubbed by his father King Charles.

Earl Spencer and Lady Jane Fellowes joined him for the ceremony at St. Paula.

Prince Harry was supported by Princess Diana’s siblings at his Invictus tournament Credit: Max Mumby

Earl Spencer and Lady Jane Fellowes joined Harry at the ceremonyCredit: Splash

The king was three miles away but too busy to meet his sonCredit: PA

The King was only two miles away, but too busy to meet Harry.

The Duke of Sussex hugged his late mum’s siblings Earl Spencer, 59, and Lady Jane Fellowes, 67, outside St Paul’s Cathedral before a service marking ten years of his Invictus Games.

Three cousins - George McCorquodale, 39, Louis Spencer, 30, and Lara Spencer, 18 – sat in the row behind Harry.

Just down the street, the King, Queen Camilla and members of the royal family mingled among the 8,000 guests on the palace lawns.

Harry was keen to meet his father during his three-day visit to the UK, but on Tuesday his office said that was not possible due to the royal’s busy schedule.

Ten years ago, Charles, Camilla and Prince William joined Harry at the first Invictus Games in London.

Yesterday, Earl Spencer and Baroness Fellowes supported him at an hour-long service followed by drinks in St Paul’s Crypt.

Harry arrived at 5pm and greeted his aunt and uncle before taking his seat.

He read, as did actor Damian Lewis. Ingrid Seward, the editor of Majesty magazine and a friend of Diana’s, said the Spencers’ presence was significant.

She said: “They are very supportive of Harry and always have been.

King Charles’ second rebuke of Prince Harry was ‘deliberately timed’ after four years of attacks – royals don’t take anything by accident, expert says

“It sends a clear signal to the royal family and to Harry that Diana’s family is with him.

“In his address at Diana’s funeral, Charles Spencer said he would have taken care of William and Harry if she had been in her place.

Contents

1 ‘Sucked up by the royal family’

‘Sucked up by the royal family’

“He said, ‘We, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative way you have managed two exceptional young people so that their souls are not simply mired in duty and tradition, but can sing openly as you have planned.’ .

“Charles Spencer wanted the Spencer family to be prominent above all others, but the boys were outplayed by the royal family.

“Now that Harry has left the royal family, the Spencers are claiming him again.”

The king, who returned to public duties despite treatment for cancer, led the royal family at Buckingham Palace from 4 p.m.

Prince Harry’s statement in full

A spokesman for Prince Harry said:

“In response to the many inquiries and continued speculation about whether the Duke will meet his father while in the UK this week:

“Unfortunately, this will not be possible due to His Majesty’s busy schedule.

“The Duke of course understands his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”

Also on the lawns were Princess Anne, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Edward and Sophie, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

The only working royals missing were the Prince and Princess of Wales.

William held an investiture in Windsor earlier in the day, and Kate is away from public duties due to her own battle with cancer.

The Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra were missing as they have fewer engagements due to their infirmity.

It sends a clear signal to the royal family and to Harry that Diana’s family is with him

Ingrid Seward

The crowd burst into applause as the royal party arrived on the Palace terrace.

King Charles and Queen Camilla were among 8,000 guests at the garden party at Buckingham PalaceCredit: PA

Princess Anne was also on the palace lawnsCredit: PA

Earl Spencer with Wills, Harry and Charles at Diana’s funeral in 1997 Credit: PA

Princess Di’s brother ‘said he would look after William and Harry for her’ Credit: Getty

The king then began to greet the charitable heroes with warm handshakes and broad smiles. He was heard to say: “I’m not doing badly”. When asked ‘How do you feel?’, he replied: ‘It’s not that bad’.

He spoke to members of the Royal Commonwealth Society and Team GB’s synchronized swimming team — promising to watch them at the Paris Olympics.

In total, he spent about an hour with the guests, despite the doctors “calibrating” his engagements.

This morning he will meet with the 3rd Royal Military School of Engineers (3RSME) at Gibraltar Barracks in Surrey.

He and Harry have not seen each other since February when Duke, who lives in the US, flew 5,000 miles following his father’s diagnosis.

WILLS ON DUTY AT WINDSOR

PRINCE William was just 25 miles away from Harry as he handed out the gongs yesterday.

England goalkeeping heroes Mary Earps and Peter Shilton picked up the honours.

Shilton, 74, spoke to Wills about England’s prospects at the men’s Euros when he was made a CBE.

He told reporters in Windsor: “I think we can win. You just need a little luck. . . bad refereeing decision.”

Earps, 31, was made an MBE for her services to football.

She said it will be the highlight of her season when she plays for Man United against Tottenham in the FA Women’s Cup final on Sunday.

The couple then talked for only 30 minutes. Today is Harry’s last time in the UK before he and wife Meghan visit Nigeria for the Invictus events.

He is currently appealing a decision to end his automatic right to 24-hour armed police in the UK, taken away after Megxit.

A guard sat in the front row of the cathedral, while Barack Obama’s former bodyguard Christopher Sanchez watched six feet behind the Duke.

Harry wore four medals on his chest, including one awarded to him by his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, for services to the monarchy.

But for the second time in the past few weeks, he failed to wear his Royal Coronation.

Harry and the king can’t play happy families with so much public attention, says The Sun’s Matt Wilkinson

Matt Wilkinson, Royal Editor

Prince Harry is in London, but he won’t meet his father the King.

The Duke of Sussex arrived from LA alone, without Meghan or their children, to keep a packed diary of events marking 10 years of his Invictus Games.

Before leaving California, Harry is understood to have “wanted” to see the king for only the second time since he was diagnosed with cancer.

It is quite telling that the confirmation that the meeting will not take place came from the Office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and not from Buckingham Palace.

His team says that “unfortunately this will not be possible due to His Majesty’s busy schedule”.

They added: “The Duke is of course understanding about his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”

Now, the word that jumps out is “priorities”.

As far as we know, the king is busy as he returns to public duty.

For example, on Tuesday, while Harry was in London, the king carried out his constitutional duty and met with the Prime Minister of Fiji at the palace.

He is also scheduled to host a palace garden party and a weekly audience with the Prime Minister on Wednesday.

And Harry’s diary is full of three days with Invictus. However, sometimes they will be only three miles apart and risk even driving side by side on London’s roads.

Some observers may see this as “sad” that father and son cannot find time.

Others might say it’s understandable since they both have work commitments and “priorities”.

But maybe there was just too much water under the bridge for father and son to play happy family in the midst of so much public attention.