11 Times Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Were Seemingly Snubbed

The scandals and controversies that have tarnished Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's reputation have only grown more and more over the years. Not everyone is jumping at the chance of rolling out the red carpet for them. In fact, there have been times when it has felt like the carpet was pulled from right under them. Sometimes it caused a huge noise. Other times, it was easy to miss. A relatively polite snub would be Buckingham Palace's response to Harry and Meghan's revelations in their infamous 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey. After empathizing with Harry and Meghan, the palace's statement read, "Some recollections may vary" (via AP News). Former journalist Martin MacConnol analyzed what he thought that sentence meant. "It is pointed and such an English way of saying 'we don't agree' without saying 'you are wrong' or accusing the other side of lying," MacConnol wrote on LinkedIn.

Speaking about the more in-your-face snubs, Harry and Meghan were seated in different rows from working royals during Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee Thanksgiving service in 2022. British investigative journalist Tom Bower shared with GB News (via Newsweek) some insider details about what he had heard about the same. Bower revealed how Harry and Meghan arrived late to St. Paul's Cathedral and wanted to sit in different seats from the ones that were assigned to them. He explained how the usher didn't budge when Harry asked him, "Who told you to tell me where to sit?" Instead, the usher responded, "Your grandmother," according to Bower. But the snubs go far beyond just the royal family, as the Sussexes have had to navigate cold shoulders on a global scale, too.

After Prince Harry and Meghan Meghan stepped back as senior members of the royal family, they began to openly share their private experiences with the firm, such as their relationship with Prince William and Princess Catherine. The couple opened up on many occasions, including Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 and Prince Harry's memoir in 2023.

That said, it seemed like Harry was open to patching things up with his brother. During his ITV interview that coincided with the release of his book, "Spare," Harry told Tom Bradby, "I would like to have my brother back." Royal expert Duncan Larcombe told The Daily Beast that the Sussexes tried making peace with William and Catherine after the latter revealed her cancer diagnosis in 2024. "Harry and Meghan have got some sense so they know it is important to be seen to be extending the olive branch, especially given that global sympathy is with Kate right now," Larcombe said. However, William and Catherine might not be on the same page. 

As far as William is concerned, an insider close to the Prince of Wales allegedly told The Daily Beast, that William "f***ing hates" his brother and doesn't think there's a chance of making any amends with him. A friend of William and Catherine's even told the outlet that William and Catherine "have come to terms with the estrangement from Harry, and are content to let sleeping dogs lie."

Princess Anne has proved to be a total boss, and is known for not sugar-coating things. Before King Charles III was coronated, she addressed talks of having a slimmed-down monarchy. During her 2023 interview with CBC News, she said, "Well, I think the 'slimmed-down' (monarchy) was said in a day when there were a few more people around to make that seem like a justifiable comment." While Anne didn't mention Harry and Meghan's name here, it's speculated that it was hinted toward them stepping back as senior members of the royal family. Anne also added, "I mean, it doesn't sound like a good idea from where I'm standing, I have to say. I'm not quite sure what else, you know, we can do."

Furthermore, royal commentator Neil Sean revealed that after a meeting with Meghan Markle, Princess Anne didn't have faith in the new royal sticking around. This reportedly happened back when Meghan had just entered the royal fold. On his YouTube channel (via Express), Sean spoke about a few inside details that he had allegedly learned through a source. He explained how Meghan went to Anne for advice and she was told to treat her royal responsibilities like a job and to take it seriously. However, Sean said, "According to a very good source Meghan Markle failed to warm to Princess Anne." He also shared, "Princess Anne always knew that Meghan would have a very short shelf-life in the world of the British monarchy."

Meghan Markle's relationship with Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, used to be a close one. Sophie was even said to be Meghan's confidant after she joined the royal family. In 2020, Sophie told The Sunday Times, "We all try to help any new member of the family." In response to the Sussexes leaving the firm, the duchess told the outlet, "I just hope they will be happy."

That said, in 2023, Sophie went to Brockhill Performing Arts College, where she was seen drawing and showing a class of students the royal family's succession line. As royal reporter Lauren Welch wrote for the Express, Sophie "drew a family tree where she failed to add Prince Harry — who is King Charles III's youngest son — in an apparent snub." Welch shared how Sophie used a marker to draw the late Queen Elizabeth II and "added little faces around it to represent King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward." Sophie then proceeded to draw Prince William, but left Harry out.

One can't help but think that maybe leaving Harry out could hint at where she and possibly the royal family stand in terms of the Sussexes. Harry is fifth in line to the throne after all. But while the Express described Sophie's exclusion of Harry as a "brutal snub," to be fair, this wasn't an official royal drawing that was going to be put up in a museum somewhere. It's also important to note that Sophie didn't include royal kids like Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, either.

Taylor Swift seems to have snubbed the Sussexes and chosen Prince William and Princess Catherine. The pop star met the royal couple in 2013 when she performed at Kensington Palace for the homelessness charity Centrepoint. William, Swift, and Bon Jovi even sang together during the event. However, Meghan Markle has wanted to get just as close to the "Shake It Off" crooner as her royal rivals.

As royal editor Victoria Ward wrote for The Telegraph in 2023, Meghan wanted Swift to be a guest on her "Archetypes" podcast. In order to make it happen, she even went so far as to write a personal handwritten letter to the singer. But Swift didn't respond to Meghan's "Archetypes" invitation — instead, her representative did and passed on the opportunity. Meghan allegedly tried to reach out to Swift again in 2024, when the Duchess of Sussex and her friend attended Swift's "Eras Tour" concert. An insider told NewsNation that "Meghan asked to go backstage. She wanted to meet Taylor and get a picture with her ... but was denied and told, 'Taylor is on vocal rest.'"

On the other hand, when Prince William took his children to the "Eras" concert for his birthday, they got to go backstage and hang out with Swift and Travis Kelce. Swift even shared a picture on Instagram, wishing William a happy birthday. "Happy Bday M8! London shows are off to a splendid start," she captioned the post. Princess Catherine, on the other hand, reportedly couldn't attend, given her cancer treatment.

After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé had something to say to the Duchess of Sussex. She gave Meghan a shout-out on her website (via Glamour), saying, "Thank you, Meghan, for your courage and leadership. We are all strengthened and inspired by you." She also hit Meghan up after her interview. In their docuseries "Harry & Meghan," the latter is seen telling Harry, "She [Beyoncé] said she wants me to feel safe and protected. She admires my bravery and vulnerability and thinks I was selected to break generational curses that need to be healed."

However, things seem to have toned down quite a bit ... at least on Beyonce's end. When Meghan invited Beyoncé on her "Confessions of a Female Founder" podcast, the "Crazy in Love" singer reportedly turned it down. Meghan and Harry even attended Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter Tour" concert, but as journalist Dan Wootton speculated, the Sussexes likely weren't invited backstage. On a 2025 episode of the "Dan Wootton Outspoken" podcast, the journalist said, "If you're truly in the A-list, you get invited backstage, and we presume that didn't happen because we didn't see a picture of it."

An insider reportedly told OK! that Meghan was attending events that were tied to Beyoncé's world, so much so that it came across as a "conscious and a bit of a desperate effort to position herself closer to that circle." The source went on to explain that if Beyoncé feels like somebody is trying to speed up the pace of friendship with her, as opposed to letting it develop naturally, she tends to pull back.

At first, George and Amal Clooney didn't know the Sussexes too well. As reported by The Mirror US, when the Clooneys attended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding service in 2018, Princess Diana's former flatmate, Carolyn Bartholomew, had a conversation with them. When Bartholomew reportedly asked the Clooneys how they knew the Sussexes, they admitted they didn't. That said, the Sussexes seemed to have grown on them, and their friendship developed. George told the Daily Mail (via Harper's Bazaar Arabia), "We live not too far from one another and we have dinners and stuff and we're friends with them for all the reasons that you're friends with anybody."

That said, all doesn't seem well in friendship paradise between the Clooneys and the Sussexes. Public relations expert Ronn Torossian gave the Express some insight into the Sussexes' possibly fizzling celebrity connections. Torossian explained that Meghan shared that she had gifted a "limited batch of her American Riviera Orchard Jams," but it wasn't clear if the Clooneys and some of her other famous friends had received them. "If they did, none of them chose to share publicly," Torossian told the outlet. He added that either case signals the "cooling of these relationships and the shrinking of her Hollywood circle." And it doesn't just stop there. 

George and Amal were reportedly "more linked to King Charles" in 2023, according to the Express. As per the outlet, an insider even claimed that "the Clooneys clearly want to be on good terms with the king and the royal family."

In 2018, Katy Perry was asked about Meghan Markle's wedding dress on the red carpet, but her response felt a bit cutting. "I would've done one more fitting. Kate won," she told reporters (via Page Six). Not only did Perry express disapproval of the gown, but she also pitted two women against each other by comparing Meghan's wedding dress to her sister-in-law's. Considering the disagreements between Meghan and Princess Catherine, which were corroborated in Prince Harry's memoir "Spare," in retrospect, Perry's comment might have stung quite a bit.

Former royal butler Paul Burrell reportedly told Closer (via The U.S. Sun), "Back in the day, the A-listers were riding on the moment — Harry and Meghan were the most popular couple in the country at one time, when they got married, but there's since been a decline." He also shared that Harry and Meghan's celebrity circle has been shrinking. As reported by The Blast, Katy Perry and her then-partner, Orlando Bloom, were invited to Prince Archie's 5th birthday celebration in 2024. However, they reportedly didn't attend.

After Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in 2022, the Sussexes reportedly asked to fly back with then-President Joe Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden on Air Force One. They were headed to the same country, after all. However, the Bidens allegedly said no. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's reported Air Force One debacle suggests that Joe Biden might be more loyal to King Charles. Speaking about why the Bidens turned down the Sussexes' request, an insider reportedly told the Daily Mail, "It would have caused such a commotion. It would have strained relations with the palace and the new king." That wasn't the only time the Bidens reportedly snubbed the Sussexes. 

Another example is Jill turning down her invitation to the Invictus Games in 2022. An insider told Daily Mail that "she wanted to go." However, didn't, because the Bidens allegedly didn't want to stir the pot and upset the British royals. Joe Biden even brought up the Invictus Games at the Christmas tree lighting ceremony in 2023. "Jill and Prince Harry went to the first Invictus Games in '14 and the Invictus Games in Ontario, I was there, in '16 in Toronto," he said (via GB News). "Anyway, there's been great, great, great effort that we've seen."

President Donald Trump hasn't hidden how he feels about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. In 2024, before Trump was elected president the second time, he hinted at the possibility of Harry being deported if he got into office. This was if Harry wasn't honest on his visa application regarding possible drug use. Harry had previously wrote about using drugs in his memoir, "Spare." During an interview with GB News, Nigel Farage asked Trump if Harry should get special treatment if his visa application information isn't true. To this, Trump said, "No. We'll have to see if they know something about the drugs, and if he lied they'll have to take appropriate action."

Trump seems to have changed his mind on the deportation after taking office. That said, it didn't stop him from taking a swipe at Harry and Meghan. He told the New York Post in 2025, "I don't want to do that [deport Harry]." He explained, "I'll leave him alone. He's got enough problems with his wife. She's terrible."

On the other hand, Trump seems to be fond of Prince William. He told the New York Post, "I think William is a great young man." He also praised William was during his state visit in 2025. In his speech, he said, "I just want to say that His Majesty has also raised a remarkable son in His Royal Highness, Prince of Wales. Really amazing. We've gotten to know you and I think you're going to have unbelievable success in the future" (via the Express). He even complimented Princess Catherine's radiance and beauty. Meanwhile, he didn't even mention the Sussexes.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey was a big deal. The legendary TV host publicly stood behind the couple, even telling Today, "I care about them both and support whatever decisions they make for their family."

Given how close Winfrey and the Sussexes seemed to be, the former has allegedly distanced herself from the pair. "Oprah helped launch Meghan and Harry's entire media brand," an executive told gossip columnist Rob Shuter, who wrote about the exchange on his Substack (via RadarOnline). "But that connection has gone quiet."

Shuter backed his claim by explaining that Winfrey and some of Meghan's other famous neighbors didn't attend the duchess' 44th birthday. But a source close to the Sussexes confirmed, "It was a private dinner. Very low-key. No speeches, no surprises." However, they admitted, "There's no feud, but it's clear the dynamics have shifted. Meghan is focused on her family and her work. And some people have moved on."

Country music queen Dolly Parton has a good reputation for her southern cooking and has made quite a name for herself in the culinary space. When Meghan Markle stepped into the cooking space with her Netflix show "With Love, Meghan," it was only natural for her to want to invite guests on her show. As such, Meghan is said to have reached out to the "9 to 5" singer, but it reportedly didn't go Meghan's way.

When celebrity commentator Kinsey Schofield showed up on "The Nerve with Maureen Callahan" in 2025, she spilled the beans about this exchange. Schofield told Callahan that "With Love, Meghan" is expected to be renewed for a third season. She shared that she thinks so because a source told her Dolly Parton was asked to appear on the show for a cameo. 

"Her [Dolly Parton's] team was livid. Because no, they don't want to risk Dolly's epic Q score, her popularity by associating with Meghan Markle," Schofield said. "They knew that this ask was just to give Meghan Markle credibility in this lifestyle space, a space that Dolly does have a lot of credibility in."