Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have turned down Queen Elizabeth II down once. Will they do it again?
This week, a royal source in Scotland revealed that Queen Elizabeth, hoping to have peace reign in her family, has invited Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and their children — Archie and Lilibet Diana — to visit her in Balmoral.
Like every year, Her Majesty will take a 10-week summer holiday in her Scottish retreat, where she will host members of the royal family.
At the moment, it seems that Prince Harry and his wife might turn down the invitation citing their hectic schedules.
Prince Harry will be promoting his tell-all book due in December, and Markle is set to launch her podcast this summer.
However, this would not be the first time that Prince Harry and the former American actress politely decline an invite from Her Majesty.
In 2019, the Queen of England wanted Prince Harry and Markle, along with baby Archie to travel from London to her Scottish Highlands estate along with Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their children.
Despite being one of the newest members of the British family, Markle was brave enough to reject the opportunity.
Back then, Markle and Prince Harry explained to Her Majesty that Archie was too young to travel such a long distance. According to the new book by Tom Bower called Revenge, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle felt Archie was “too young at three months to travel by plane to Scotland.”
However, oddly enough, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex took Archie on two secret trips that summer.
In August 2019, the royal couple and their baby boy reportedly went to Ibiza via private plane. They also flew to Nice, France, where they stayed at Elton John‘s private villa.
It is believed that this year, Her Majesty asked the family to join her during the retreat because she was hoping to start rebuilding the strained relationship between Prince Harry, Markle, and other royals ahead of the bombshell book.
While many say it would be rude of the pair to snub the Queen a second time, others applaud Prince Harry and Markle for avoiding Balmoral.
Some point to the fact that it might bring back painful memories for the rebellious royal. Prince Harry and Prince William learned that their mother, Princess Diana, had passed away while they were holidaying in Balmoral in the summer of 1997.
Others say this is not the place for young children — Archie is three, and Lilibet just celebrated her first birthday.
There are a lot of blood sports on the estate, including shooting, hunting, and fishing, and Markle is an animal lover who might not want her children around these activities.
Reports have also surfaced claiming that Prince Harry and Markle are not on the Queen’s list of invitees to Scotland this year.
