One year after stepping back from their roles within the royal family, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sat down for a bombshell primetime special with former talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
Lady O also attended the Sussexes’ royal wedding in 2018, worked with Harry on his Apple TV project The Me You Can’t See, and today they reside in the same Montecito neighborhood which has led many to believe that they are pretty close. Meghan has even referred to the journalist in the past as a “friend” and “confidant.” So questions were raised when the duke and duchess weren’t on guestlist for Oprah’s recent bash.
The Sussexes were noticeably absent from Oprah’s birthday bash
Oprah celebrated her 69th birthday with a posh dinner party on Jan. 28. The star-studded affair included several big-name celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone, Heidi Klum, and Kim Kardashian to name a few. But Meghan and Harry were noticeably absent.
“Snubs like this show that the tide is turning with the Sussexes — and that the gamble that saw them trade in the lifelong duty of being working royalty for the money and fame of being celebrities hasn’t paid off,” Kara Kennedy wrote in a column for The Spectator. She pointed out a similar instance in which the prince and his wife were not invited to Barrack Obama’s 60th birthday celebration which included several top Hollywood stars like George Clooney, Jay-Z, and Beyoncé.
“It’s easy to see why Oprah wouldn’t want the pair at her birthday shindig after Harry’s latest revelations. During his press tour for the duke’s memoir, Spare, nearly three years on from that bombshell interview with Oprah, he made her look stupid,” Kennedy added referring the prince’s counter that he and Meghan outed the royals as racists during their chat with Oprah.
Some Twitter users opined that perhaps A-list celebs just didn’t want Meghan and Harry at the event out of fear that what they say and do might end up in the couple’s next docuseries or book.
Author claims Meghan and Harry are keeping their friendship with Oprah on ‘down-low’
Kinsey Schofield host of the To Di For Daily podcast told Fox News Digital she wasn’t surprised that the Sussexes weren’t in attendance but for another reason, saying: “I live in Los Angeles and have spent years in PR. Word on the street is that Harry and Meghan aren’t invited anywhere because all eyes would be on them and it would distract from the cause or event.”
However royal author and commentator Christopher Andersen disagrees and thinks there is an entirely different reason as to why Meghan and Harry weren’t at Oprah’s party.
“I have to be honest, I’ve interviewed Oprah several times over the years, starting when she first burst onto the national scene in the 1980s. If there is one thing Oprah is, it’s loyal,” Andersen explained. “I think people are reading a lot more into this supposed snub than they should.
“My reading of the situation is that both Oprah and the Sussexes realize this is a very delicate moment for Harry and Meghan as we approach the coronation of King Charles. Appearing at such a glitzy, high-profile event with Hollywood A-listers to honor Oprah is not what the Sussexes need right now. That would certainly rub King Charles the wrong way, not to mention an already hostile British public. I’m certain Harry and Meghan remain on friendly terms and are keeping the whole Oprah/H&M thing on the down-low.”
Are Prince Harry and Meghan attending King Charles’ coronation?
A big question royal watchers keep asking is: Will the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will attend King Charles’ coronation?
At this time, there’s a debate about whether or not the pair will even be invited but Harry was asked if he would go if he does receive an invite.
In his interview with ITV during promotional tour of his memoir, Harry answered the question about whether he would go saying: “There’s a lot that can happen between now and then. The door is always open. The ball is in their court. There’s a lot to be discussed and I really hope that they are willing to sit down and talk about it because there’s a lot that’s happened in six years.”
