William and Harry's row about Meghan which saw Sussexes snub Balmoral invitation

31 July 2023 , 06:12

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Tensions are still high between William and his brother and sister-in-law (Image: Kim Kardashian/instagram)

The Balmoral summer holiday is a highlight in the royal diary, giving the family time to catch up and relax away from the spotlight. While this year will be the first trip since the Queen's passing, King Charles is reportedly set to carry on the special tradition.

But Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to miss the holiday, despite having an "open invitation". It will be the third time the couple have decided not to make the trip, likely due to the distance and ongoing tensions between Harry and his family. The first time they decided to skip the Scottish break - back in 2019 - was reportedly due to a row between Harry and Prince William.

According to royal author Robert Lacey the brothers had a "showdown" shortly before the trip about the edition of Vogue that Meghan guest edited. While it's normal for royal women to appear in the magazine, with Princess Diana and Kate both gracing the cover, Meghan turned down the opportunity and instead asked to edit it.

The issue was a huge hit (PA)

Meghan was the guest editor for Vogue's September issue, the biggest of the year (Getty Images)

In his book Battle of Brothers Lacey claims William tried to talk to his brother about some of the issues raised in the magazine - but it didn't end well.

He writes: "William had been worried for some time that Harry was growing away from him, and this was confirmed when he tried to discuss the issues raised by Meghan's Vogue with his brother.

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"But there was another classic Harry explosion, followed by a further, even deeper rift. Suddenly Harry, Meghan and Archie were no longer joining William, Kate and the other members of the Royal Family for their annual summer holiday with Grandma at Balmoral.

"The official excuse, conveyed straight-faced by the palace, was that at three months Archie was still too young for the air travel involved. But that didn't stop the Sussexes somehow managing to travel to Minorca for a week that August, and then taking Archie with them for a few days in the South of France with Elton John and his partner David Furnish."

Zoe Forsey