Each August, several members of the royal family head to Balmoral Castle in Scotland for their summer break. The estate has been the family’s getaway vacation spot since 1852. And every year since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from royal duties, there have been questions about whether they would get an invite to join the family at some point while they’re staying there.

But this summer sources have said the Sussexes have not been invited, and are pointing to one royal who is thought to be behind the king’s decision not to extend an invitation to his youngest son and daughter-in-law.

The royal who is believed to be behind Prince Harry and Meghan’s Balmoral snub

Balmoral is open to the public until Aug. 4, and days later King Charles and Queen Camilla will arrive. At some point after that, other royals including Princess Anne, Sir Timothy Laurence, Mike and Zara Tindall, Prince Edward and the Duchess of Edinburgh (formerly Sophie, Countess of Wessex) are expected to arrive.

It’s been reported that Prince William and the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton) will make the trip with their three children too as long as the princess feels well enough. But Harry and Meghan and won’t be there and it’s not just because of their war with the Waleses. An insider is claiming that the person who made the call not to invite the duke and duchess was Queen Camilla.


Queen Camilla traveling down The Mall on the way to the State Opening of Parliament | Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images© Provided by Showbiz Cheat Sheet

The source told Express: “The king was very keen to keep everyone happy during the Balmoral stay this year. Charles and Kate have gone through a very difficult year, so it was time for everyone to come together to celebrate the progress made and keep things in a positive mindset.

“Charles is also very protective of his wife so he wanted to ensure that everyone was comfortable with the plans put forward for Balmoral this summer.”

The insider added that the monarch wants the royals going to the estate to be able to freely “discuss plans for the future and unwind.”

Harry wrote some unflattering things about his stepmother and called her a ‘villian’


A poster advertising Prince Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’ is seen in a store window | Leon Neal/Getty Images© Provided by Showbiz Cheat Sheet


Prince Harry Doesn’t Trust Prince William’s Budding Relationship With ‘Wicked Stepmother’ Queen Camilla© Provided by Showbiz Cheat Sheet


Prince William’s Gesture Toward Stepmother Camilla When She Became Uneasy on Her Feet Caught on Camera; ‘Princess Diana Raised Him Right’© Provided by Showbiz CheatSheet

It’s not surpising if Queen Camilla is the person who made the call not to invite Harry and Meghan considering the fractured relationship they now have. After all, the duke did publicly call her a villian and wrote some pretty unflattering things about her in his memoir Spare.

Moreover, according to a Palace courtier, when Harry flew to London to see his father and showed up at Clarence House unannounced just after the announcement that Charles had cancer, Camilla “left no doubt that [Harry] isn’t wanted back.”

RadarOnline reported that the courtier said: “Her Majesty was furious Harry flew in from his ritzy California home without getting palace approval — and came with an attitude. I’m told Camilla was outraged. She’s taken a lot of bile from Harry for years.”

The courtier added the queen couldn’t stomach the Duke of Sussex “using her husband’s cancer as ‘loving son’ PR” saying Camilla has taken it all on the chin, but using her husband’s cancer as a PR stunt was the last straw.”