Hot on the heels from a successful tour of Kenya and his first State Opening of Parliament, King Charles is celebrating another huge milestone this month, turning 75 on November 14th.
While this will be an exciting day to celebrate with his family, it is thought that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be missing and will not be travelling over from California for a private gathering.
Sources in the Sussexes camp have claimed they did not receive any invitation to the birthday celebration – in contrast to initial suggestions an 'olive branch' invite went unanswered. Whatever the truth of it, leading royal expert Jennie Bond explains to OK! the reason Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's absence will stop Charles' family evening becoming 'horribly awkward'.
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie said: "I hope Harry was invited. But…imagine how horribly awkward his presence would make the whole evening. What we have now is a pretty stable, happy family unit in the King and Queen, William and Catherine, the Edinburghs and the Princess Royal and their families."
Jennie added: "On the other side of the Atlantic we have the estranged and disgruntled outsiders, Harry and Meghan. If they, or just Harry, rocked up at Clarence House it would inevitably put a real dampener on the celebration.
"The air is still heavy with recrimination and hurt on both sides. That needs to be sorted before the family can genuinely unite in celebration."
The Sunday Times reported that Prince Harry had turned down an invitation to the birthday celebrations, and will stay in California. But a spokesperson for the Sussexes told MailOnline that the couple had no idea about it.
The source said: "There has been no contact regarding an invitation to His Majesty's upcoming birthday."
Another source close to the Sussexes added: "They had not received any invitation and were unaware of any celebrations until the stories came out," the insider said, adding: "I'm sure the Duke will find a way to reach out privately to wish His Majesty a happy birthday like he has always done."
While little is known about how else the King will mark his milestone birthday, his incredible work ethic is often noted upon, with Queen Camilla previously joking about how challenging it is to get him to take a rest.
At an engagement together in south-west India in 2013, Camilla once spoke candidly about her husband’s tireless dedication to his role, saying, “He always has to finish something. He is so in the zone, working, working, working.”
Charles was celebrating his 65th birthday during that particular tour and Camilla had hoped to convince her husband to “chill out completely”. She revealed, “If there’s a little hint of sun I might just persuade him to go for a walk or sit outside.
"He loves walking, so that might do it. We see the sun all the time but we never get the chance to just go and sit in it. So that would be bliss. So maybe I will persuade him. But no, my husband is not one for chilling.”
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