White House rejected Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Air Force One request after Queen Elizabeth's funeral: report
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were reportedly turned down by the White House when they asked to join the Bidens on Air Force One after the Queen's funeral.
Sources have revealed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke, and Duchess of Sussex, were turned down by the White House when they asked to join the Bidens on their return flight to the US on Air Force One after attending the Queen’s funeral in September.
The royal couple, who had been living in California since stepping back from their royal roles in 2020, had flown to the UK for some charity events and stayed for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away at 96 on Sept. 8.
However, they faced a cold reception from the royal family, who were still upset by their explosive 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The duo was not invited to a pre-funeral reception at Buckingham Palace, where other royals, including the new King Charles and Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Kate Middleton, mingled with President Biden and first lady Jill Biden and other world leaders.
They were also relegated to the second row behind the rest of the royal family at the funeral service at Westminster Abbey.
Feeling snubbed, Harry and Meghan’s staff contacted the White House to see if they could hitch a ride back to the US on Air Force One, which the Bidens had used for their official visit to London for the funeral.
But the White House swiftly shut down their request, citing concerns that it would cause a “commotion” and damage relations with the Palace and the new King, according to the Daily Mail.
A source shared, “It would have caused such a commotion. It would have strained relations with the Palace and the new King.”
The White House has not confirmed or denied the report.
The White House has the discretion to invite anyone they want on board Air Force One, but there are also cost implications.
Trips for official government business are usually covered by taxpayers, while other trips are paid for by the travelers themselves or their sponsors.
For example, Biden pays for his own family to travel on the plane, political parties pay for flights to campaign events and news organizations pay for journalists to cover the president.
This was not the first time that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been snubbed by the White House. In April 2022, Jill Biden declined an invitation from Harry and Meghan to attend the Invictus Games in The Hague, The Netherlands.
The games are a sporting event for wounded and sick service members that Harry founded in 2014.
The first lady of the US had attended the games in Canada in 2017 and Florida in 2016 with her husband, who was then vice president. She wanted to go to the 2022 games as well, but British officials told National Security Council staff that they thought it would look bad, as Harry and Meghan were no longer seen as having any official state status, sources told Daily Mail.
Instead of Jill Biden, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten represented the US delegation at the games.
