Harry and Meghan have been excluded from the high society wedding of his childhood friend Hugh Grosvenor – but William and Kate are invited – in the latest sign of a Royal rift between the two brothers.
Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, is said to have wanted to invite the Sussexes but decided against it to avoid clashes on his big day amid soaring tensions between the royals following the release of Omid Scobie’s new book.
He picked the Prince and Princess of Wales over the Sussexes to avoid any awkward moments for King Charles and Queen Camilla during the wedding, The Sunday Times reported.
One of Britain’s richest men, 32, the billionaire aristocrat proposed to fiancee Olivia Henson at his family seat, Eaton Hall in Cheshire. They are set to get married at Chester Cathedral on June 7 in the wedding of the year.
It comes as he was revealed to be the godfather of Harry’s son Archie – alongside being the godfather for Prince George, who will be at the wedding.
A life-long friend for each of the brothers, he is thought to be the only pal both chose to mentor their children.
And to rub salt in the wound, it is thought Prince William is in the running to be Grosvenor’s best man.
Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, is said to have picked the Prince and Princess of Wales over the Sussexes to avoid clashes that would overshadow his big day. Pictured: Prince William (right) and Hugh Grosvenor (second from left) during the official handover of the newly built Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre in 2018
It comes as tensions are already high between Harry and William. Pictured: Prince Harry (third from right) visits the Khulula Care for Wild Centre in South Africa in 2015 with Grosvenor (right)
One of Britain’s richest men, 32, the billionaire aristocrat proposed to fiancee Olivia Henson at his family seat, Eaton Hall in Cheshire. They are set to get married at Chester Cathedral on June 7 in the wedding of the year. Pictured: The happy pair
It comes as he was revealed to be the godfather of Harry’s son Archie – alongside being the godfather for Prince George, who will be at the wedding. Pictured: Harry and Meghan with Archie in 2019
It comes as tensions are already high between Harry and William – after King Charles III and Kate Middleton were named as the royals alleged to have made comments about the skin colour of Harry and Meghan’s son Archie prior to his birth in the Dutch edition of Scobie’s latest tome, Endgame
A life-long friend for each of the brothers, he is thought to be the only pal both chose to mentor their children. Pictured: At the wedding of Harry’s school friend Charlie van Straubenzee and Daisy Jenks
The broadsheet understands that the Duke wanted to invite Harry and Meghan but eventually decided against it as he feared the tension it would cause with the other Royals who have been invited – including the King and Queen.
‘It’s incredibly sad it has come to this,’ a friend of William and Harry’s told The Sunday Times.
‘Hugh is one of very few close friends of William and Harry’s who has maintained strong bonds and a line of communication with both. He wishes they could put their heads together and patch things up, but realises it’s unlikely to happen before the wedding.’
‘He wanted to avoid anything overshadowing the day, especially for Olivia, and doesn’t want any awkwardness.’
A spokesman for the Duke said last night: ‘We are not in a position to comment on the guest list.’ Buckingham Palace also declined to comment.
Archie’s other godparents have not been named publicly by his parents – but include Tiggy Pettifer, Harry and William’s former nanny, Mark Dyer, his minder, and his school friend Charlie van Straubenzee.
It comes as tensions are already high between Harry and William – after King Charles III and Kate Middleton were named as the royals alleged to have made comments about the skin colour of Harry and Meghan’s son Archie prior to his birth in the Dutch edition of Scobie’s latest tome, Endgame.
The King is said to be taking the taking the furore over the book ‘very seriously’ and will consult senior advisers next week on the family’s next step, with ‘all options’ including legal action set to be considered.
Prince William (right), and the Duke of Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor (centre) in 2018
Hugh Grosvenor attends the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle with Charlie van Straubenzee at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018
The broadsheet understands that the Duke wanted to invite Harry and Meghan but eventually decided against it as he feared the tension it would cause with the other Royals who have been invited – including the King and Queen
Harry and Meghan, meanwhile, have not commented publicly on the scandal. Scobie has been accused of acting as a ‘mouthpiece’ for the Sussexes, an allegation he has denied, writing on X, formerly Twitter: ‘I’m not ‘Meg’s pal’.
But sources close to the Duchess of Sussex , who allegedly wrote down the names of the two family members in letters to King Charles, have insisted to that she ‘never intended for them to be publicly identified’.
One source close to the Royal Family has now called on Harry and Meghan to speak out publicly on the issue.
‘For the couple that talked about ‘death by a thousand no comments’, the silence at this point is deafening,’ the source told The Telegraph.
Another insider added that the decision not to respond was ‘interesting’ given the Sussexes’ previous complaints about not being supported against negative press stories.
The scandal – which Scobie has been forced to insist was not a publicity stunt – has kept Endgame in the headlines for more than a week as excerpts were published in the days before its release in a French magazine.
The most eye-grabbing extract serialised in Paris Match claimed that there was a second so-called ‘royal racist’ – after Harry and Meghan alluded to a member of the Royal Household expressing discomfort over Archie’s skin colour in 2021.
Grosvenor, who is thought to own more land than the King, has an estimated net worth of £9.42 billion and has a long history with the royal family – with his late father Gerald acting as King Charles’ own godfather.
Grosvenor, who is thought to own more land than the King, has an estimated net worth of £9.42 billion and has a long history with the royal family – with his late father Gerald acting as King Charles’ own godfather. Pictured: With his mother in 2018
The Duke was the third child and only son of Gerald Grosvenor, the 6th Duke of Westminster, and his wife Natalia who is a descendant from the Russian Imperial House of Romanov, specifically from Nicholas I of Russia.
When he was baptised on 23 June 1991, the King – then the Prince of Wales – agreed to officiate as godfather.
He even had an official role in the King’s coronation procession – carrying the Standards of the Quarterings of the Royal Arms and Standard of the Principality of Wales alongside the Marquess of Anglesey, the Earl of Caledon and Scottish peer and Conservative politician the Earl of Dundee.
Grosvenor was raised at Eaton Hall with his three sisters: Lady Tamara, Lady Edwina, and Lady Viola. They attended a local public primary school before he attended the small, private Mostyn House School, followed by Ellesmere College in Shropshire where fees are £40,635 a year.
He later studied at Newcastle University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Countryside Management
The Duke, whose Latin family motto Virtus Non Stemma means Virtue not Ancestry, was originally titled Earl Grosvenor from his birth until 2016, when his father died and he became the seventh Duke.
At the time he was labelled Britain’s most eligible bachelor but in April this year he announced his engagement to Olivia Grace Henson.
He confirmed the engagement through a statement, which said: ‘The Duke of Westminster and Miss Olivia Henson are delighted to announce they are engaged to be married.
‘The couple, who have been together for two years, recently became engaged at the Duke’s family home at Eaton Hall in Cheshire.
‘Members of both their families are absolutely delighted with the news.
‘Hugh Grosvenor, The Duke of Westminster, is Grosvenor’s Chair as well as Chair of the Westminster Foundation. Miss Henson works for Belazu, a B-Corp certified food company based in London.’
has contacted Grosvenor and the Sussexes for comment.