Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hosted a small, intimate Christening ceremony for their daughter Princess Lilibet last Friday, but the rest of the royal family did not attend. According to a report by PEOPLE, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton were all invited to the event in advance but did not make the trip. Sources close to the couple did not remark on how they felt about this snub.
“I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor,” said an official spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Meanwhile, an anonymous source close to them revealed that Prince Harry’s immediate family was invited but did not show up. They did not disclose details about the communication between them or how the royals conveyed their decision not to come. They said that between 20 and 30 guests were in attendance, including Markle’s mother Doria Ragland and Princess Lilibet’s godfather, comedian Tyler Perry.
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Of course, invitations and RSVPs are a hot topic within the royal family right now as King Charles’ coronation approaches. In the last few weeks, there has been some dramatic coverage of rumors coming in and out of Buckingham Palace, but in the end, Prince Harry and Markle did receive an official invitation to the coronation. They have not responded to that invitation yet, and some are speculating that they may not attend unless some “conditions” are met.
Prince Harry has stirred a lot of drama for the royal family in the last few months with his tell-all memoir, Spare, as well as comments he made promoting the book and other revelations in the Netflix original series Harry & Meghan. In one ITV interview in January, Prince Harry seemed to imply that he would not attend the coronation unless he received an apology from his father and his elder brother for the way they treated Markle while they were living in the U.K. as newlyweds.
Meanwhile, sources close to the royal family told The Daily Mailย that Prince William did not want Prince Harry and Markle to be invited to the coronation because he feared they would incite more drama and distract from the ceremony itself. Those insiders said that King Charles did want his younger son to attend, and ultimately his will prevailed. However, another source speculated in The Times that the king would not make an unqualified apology if that’s what Prince Harry is truly holding out for. They said that the king would be open to “a conversation” with his son, but “it would not be a one-way street.”
Considering that the coronation is approaching so fast, it may have been logistical issues alone that kept the royals from attending Princess Lilibet’s Christening halfway across the world. The Coronation of King Charles III is scheduled for Saturday, May 6 at Westminster Abbey in London, England.
