It’s not a secret that Prince Harry’s relationship with his father, King Charles, and older brother, Prince William, is contentious. But his cousins, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie? Well, Harry is thought to be particularly close to the York sisters (the daughters of the Duke and Duchess of York, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson). Yet, that said, neither showed up to support Harry at the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Invictus Games earlier this month—in fact, not a single member of the royal family turned up at St. Paul’s Cathedral for the Service of Thanksgiving. Harry—who was in the U.K. without his wife, Meghan Markle, who stayed behind in California with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet—did, thankfully, have family on hand, in the form of his late mother Princess Diana’s siblings, who turned up to support their nephew.
Back to Beatrice and Eugenie—there may be a couple of reasons why they weren’t on hand to support Harry. The first is simply based on location: Beatrice was in New York City on Monday, May 6, so maybe she wasn’t yet back in the U.K. by May 8, or maybe she was jet-lagged. Eugenie, for her part, splits her time between the U.K. and Portugal, so, who knows, maybe she was in the latter on May 8. They could have also had other commitments, familial or otherwise—both are married with two kids each.
But then, there’s the other side of the coin—Marie Claire previously reported that the King required working royals to be at the garden party he threw simultaneously at Buckingham Palace, held just miles away but a world apart from Harry’s event at St. Paul’s at the same time. Beatrice and Eugenie aren’t working royals (and weren’t at the garden party), but, in light of Charles reportedly considering bringing Eugenie and, especially, Beatrice on as his slimmed down monarchy has become perhaps a bit too slim, OK reports that the York sisters wouldn’t attend Harry’s Invictus Games event without the King’s permission. OK reports that “the sisters didn’t want to send out a divisive message by attending,” and royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told GB News that Beatrice and Eugenie “would not have been expected to be there because that would have been a sign of a split in the royal family,” he said. “You would have had royals there, some there and not others—that would have been seized on.”
Fitzwilliams did clarify that Beatrice and Eugenie still maintain a “close relationship with Harry,” but added “If you had any members of the royal family going, it would have been perceived as a split,” he said. “There would have been no way Beatrice and Eugenie would have attended an event like that without the King’s consent.”
Though no Windsors were there, the Spencers came out in support—and body language expert Judi James said that Harry was comfortable around Diana’s siblings, including Earl Charles Spencer and Lady Jane Fellowes. “Harry clearly looks excited and delighted to be seeing his mother’s family again here,” she said. “His cheeks are rounded, his face red and shiny, and his eye-smile involves crinkling to signal authentic pleasure and affection.”
In particular, when talking to his uncle—Diana’s only brother—“Harry’s body language here is a blend of excited, free child and fond adult,” James said. “He looks relaxed and socially ‘safe,’ as though able to express his emotions as well as be more playful.”
In addition to supporting Harry when no members of the royal family did at the May 8 Invictus Games event, Diana’s sisters Lady Jane and Lady Sarah McCorquodale flew to California for Lili’s christening back in March 2023. No royals were present for that occasion, either.
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