It was the society wedding of the year. On June 7, billionaire Hugh Grosvenor, the 7th Duke of Westminster, wed Olivia Henson, 31, a food company account manager, at England’s historic Chester Cathedral. On hand to help his childhood friend on his big day, future king Prince William. Noticeably absent? Hugh’s other royal pal, Prince Harry.
“Hugh’s family has been close to the royals for generations,” a source exclusively tells In Touch of the godfather to William’s son Prince George, 10, and Harry’s older child, Prince Archie, 5.
But with the brothers still feuding, it was clear both couldn’t attend, lest their drama distract from the pomp — especially after William, 41, was tapped to be an usher.
Although Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, were invited, the source explains, “a delicate decision was made and the Sussexes respectfully declined.”
Harry has sacrificed more than wedding invites. Since stepping down from royal duties four years ago, the 39-year-old has suffered a string of losses. The recent blows: being cut off from his father, King Charles III, 75, and sister-in-law Kate Middleton, 42, as they each battle cancer.
“The reality is he’s lost his place among Britain’s high society,” explains the source, adding that the latest snub — just weeks after Charles publicly claimed he was too busy to see his son during a rare trip to London — has proven a breaking point for Harry, who’s been spiraling as he struggles to come to terms with the consequences of his choices.
“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,” says the source, adding that a “worried” Meghan, 42, “seems to be his only anchor these days.”
Harry can’t seem to win with the royals. Last year, following the release of his bombshell-filled memoir Spare — in which he accused loved ones and palace courtiers of lying to the media to protect and favor more senior royals and detailed fights with his father and brother — Harry said he still hoped they could make amends.
“The door is always open. The ball is in their court,” he said. “There is a lot to be discussed and I really hope that they are willing to sit down and talk.”
So far, that hasn’t happened. “William and Harry aren’t even close to a truce,” says the source. “William hasn’t forgiven Harry for what he said in his book.” (Including a claim that William physically assaulted him during an argument about Meghan.) It’s become apparent that whenever there’s a choice to be made between William and Harry, the heir to the throne will always win.
“Harry’s been forced to step back from many of his former friendships, including with Hugh,” says the source. “It only serves to remind him where he fits into the royal scheme of things. He’s been relegated to the back of the room.”
Situations like these continue to be pain points. “There are friends from his former life who don’t talk to him out of loyalty to the royal family,” reveals the source. “Harry’s extremely sensitive to people’s disdain for him whether real or perceived” and has grown isolated and “lonely for his old life.”
That includes his relationships with Charles and Kate, who both disclosed cancer battles earlier this year. Though Harry flew to Britain immediately after the palace announced Charles’ diagnosis in February (sources have told In Touch Charles has pancreatic cancer and has been given just two years to live), he was granted just 30 minutes with his dad and hasn’t seen him since. It’s believed Harry and Meghan learned about the Princess of Wales’ medical news, including a January abdominal surgery and a March chemotherapy reveal — with the rest of the world.
“It’s boggling to Harry that Charles and Kate would shun him at a time when the family should stick together amid a health crisis,” says the source. “That’s wrenching for Harry.”
More recently, the Sussexes failed to score an invite to Trooping the Colour — the monarch’s annual official birthday celebration — for the second year in a row. “It’s just another in a long list of slights,” says the source. “Their position as castoffs seems to have been firmly cemented.”
Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan’s efforts to reinvent themselves in America have been challenging. Though they embarked on a well-received unofficial royal tour of Nigeria in May and have a film and TV shows in the works at Netflix, their lucrative podcasting contract with Spotify abruptly ended last year and in December, it emerged that their charitable Archewell Foundation suffered an $11 million decline in contributions after its first year of operation.
“Things haven’t exactly panned out as they’d hoped,” concedes the source. “Harry wonders whether it was such a good idea to leave the U.K. and everything he knew to move to the States.”
Even his beloved Invictus Games, a sporting event for wounded, ill and injured soldiers and veterans, has become a source of distress: When Harry marked the Games’ 10th anniversary with a London service of thanksgiving in May, no one from the royal family turned up despite being just a few miles away (Harry’s late mother Princess Diana’s sibs did make it).
“Harry may put on a stoic face,” says the source. “But it eats away at him that he’s being treated like a pariah when all he tried to do was protect his family.”
Meghan is urging Harry that such treatment is exactly why they stepped away in the first place. “She reminds him how unhappy he was in the U.K. and how they have so much to be grateful for now,” shares the source. “She doesn’t spend a lot of time looking backward. She’s focused on the present and thinks he should be too.”
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