The California sun was hot but the messages coming out of London felt like pure ice. A youngest son packed his bags for a flight across the Atlantic to celebrate ten years of his proudest achievement.
He expected a reunion at the end of the journey. He expected a father to open the door. But the royal diary was completely full. The monarch was undergoing cancer treatment and had no time for his own flesh and blood.
The negotiation behind the scenes was fierce and brutal.
“There is some talk that behind the scenes, a lot of negotiating went on,” a royal commentator stated. “I think the reason was that Harry made certain demands about who could be in the room and who couldn’t. Although on the surface it looks like a snub, Harry made it very difficult for his father.”
Other powerful forces were working in the dark to keep the prince away. The older brother had a say in how the meeting should be conducted or whether it should happen at all. The prince had to release a public statement to hide the sting of the rejection.
“The duke, of course, is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”
The calendar turned to June and the public humiliation grew deeper.
The king celebrated his official birthday with the grand spectacle of Trooping the Colour. Thousands lined the streets of London to see the family stand on the famous stone balcony.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were thousands of miles away in Montecito because their mailbox remained empty.
The prince and his wife were completely left off the guest list.
The last time they stood near that balcony was two years prior and even then they were hidden from the crowd. Still, they tried to send love across the ocean to a sister-in-law fighting her own battle with cancer. They wanted to build a bridge.
“They’ve jointly reached out to send well wishes, but they’re still not really in a place with Kate to warrant much of a response,” a source revealed.
The silent treatment from the palace did not stop them from trying to connect.
Then came the final blow to his social standing. The Duke of Westminster announced the society wedding of the year and the guest list divided the family.
The invitation arrived but the tension made the event impossible to attend. The prince and his wife had to respectfully decline because the older brother was already confirmed to be there.
The high society of Britain was locking him out of the circle.
The youngest son who once wore the uniform of the realm was now completely on the outside looking in. The distance between California and London was no longer just geography. It was an emotional canyon.
“There are some days when Harry says he can’t take it anymore – the slights, the coldness coming from the palace, it’s like he’s no longer a part of that family.”
