After Queen Elizabeth died, a royal expert has claimed that Prince Harry was snubbed from an important secret meeting that took place between other senior royals

In the immediate aftermath of the late Queen Elizabeth’s death, King Charles was faced with both his own grief and the realities of taking the throne and becoming sovereign. The new monarch swiftly arranged a meeting with his eldest son William – the new Prince of Wales – where the two most senior royals could have some important and time-critical discussions but one member of the Royal Family was snubbed from joining the secret meeting – Prince Harry.

A royal expert claimed that once Harry’s inclusion in a meeting like this one would have been totally automatic. However, since the Duke of Sussex left life as a working royal behind, and has been unafraid to vocalise his most candid thoughts and opinions on life inside the monarchy, his absence from the meeting indicates just how much relations have broken down between Harry and his father and brother.

The royal expert, Robert Hardman – a historian and author – made the claim in his book Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, where he explained that even in the midst of his own grief at losing his mother, Charles needed to have “vital but discreet discussions” with William, and decided to leave Prince Harry out of the loop because “Charles III needed a clear head and no distractions.”

“This was clearly not an occasion for an opening up of hearts and minds with Prince Harry, particularly if he was still taking notes for his forthcoming book,” Hardman wrote, with the Queen’s death coming only a few months before the publication of Harry’s bestselling memoir Spare.

In Spare, Harry detailed his version of events surrounding the death of his beloved grandmother, claiming that he was en route to Balmoral Castle when the late Queen passed away and that he learned about her death from the BBC News website – along with much of the rest of the country.

Harry had travelled to Balmoral after receiving a call from his father informing him that the late Queen’s health was deteriorating and that Charles had asked him not to bring Meghan with him on the visit to Scotland. When he finally arrived at Balmoral he was met by his aunt Princess Anne, who asked him if he wanted one last opportunity to see his grandmother where he said his goodbyes privately.