Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's exclusion from royal wedding is a bitter blow

When Harry's mother Diana, Princess of Wales, died suddenly in a car accident in 1997, it was Peter, alongside his sister Zara, who was rushed to Balmoral to help comfort Harry and William. A photograph taken five days later shows Peter standing next to Harry as the family acknowledge floral tributes at the gates of the estate.

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So the Duke of Sussex might reasonably have expected an invitation to Peter's second wedding. He attended Peter's first wedding, in 2008, to Autumn Kelly. Peter was a guest at Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle ten years later. 

The absence of an invitation this time speaks to the gulf between Harry and the rest of his family. It is an illustration of the sacrifice that Harry made when he left Britain to make a new life with Meghan in Montecito, California, and a barometer of the bitterness that means that his brother cannot bear to be in the same room as him.

That sacrifice was hinted at by a friend of Peter when HELLO! broke the news that Harry would not be attending. "Peter and Harry haven't spoken for several years and have simply lost touch," the friend said. "So he hasn't been invited."

While there are occasional press reports suggesting that Harry is isolated from his old friendship circles, they cite only unnamed sources and feel intangible. This is a clear example of what Harry has lost.

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Peter's friend omitted to mention the other possible reason for Harry's exclusion: it would be understandable if the groom wished to avoid a clash between Harry and William, whose relationship has unravelled with no clear hope of reconciliation. 

Prince William, who also appears in the photograph of the fire engine, sitting next to the coiled fire hose and polished bell, is no longer speaking to his brother. Harry has spoken publicly about the reason why. In 2025, he told the BBC that "some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book". 

The book was Spare, a confessional memoir that included Harry's resentment at having a smaller portion of their shared bedroom at Balmoral, and an alleged altercation in 2019 in which William tore Harry's necklace and threw him onto a dog bowl. 

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Although it seems unlikely that a further meeting would descend into a fight, and the church is not furnished with a dog bowl, the attendance of both brothers would be at best a distraction and at worst a source of tension as they tried to avoid one another in a church that seats about 150 people. 

So Peter has apparently chosen one brother over the other: another slight for Harry to add to his tally of grievances.