Prince Harry’s uncle Robert Fellowes passed away over two weeks ago. Fellowes was married to Lady Jane Spencer, who was one of Princess Diana’s sisters. Harry, as we know, is very close to the Spencer side of his family. The Spencers showed up at St. Paul’s Cathedral in May for the Invictus anniversary event, and they greeted each other warmly, thus blowing up the “shunned Harry” storyline the Windsors had organized. There’s been a lot of energy towards “Harry should go to the UK for his uncle’s funeral,” because these people genuinely expect Harry to hop on a 12-hour flight constantly. Harry isn’t going – he reportedly spoke to his Aunt Jane, and his people confirmed to People Mag that he would not attend Fellowes’ funeral. Now the Daily Beast has this exclusive:
Friends of Prince Harry have said it is “very sad” that he is not planning to return to the U.K. for the funeral of his uncle. Robert Fellowes, a great keeper of royal secrets, died at the beginning of the month. He was married to Princess Diana’s sister Lady Jane, who is just 67.
He was also the late Queen Elizabeth’s private secretary and took the palace’s side in the power struggle over then-Prince Charles’ failing marriage. Diana’s relationship with her sister inevitably suffered. However, Jane and Harry reconciled and she gave a reading at Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018, highlighting her important place in their lives.
Although Harry was no great fan of Fellowes personally, whom Diana regarded as one of the leading “men in grey” who conspired against her, friends of the family have told The Daily Beast that Harry would have liked, in normal circumstances, to attend the funeral out of respect to his aunt. A source close to Harry, however, told The Daily Beast that Harry would not be returning to the U.K. for the funeral.
Some outlets have claimed that Harry is not returning for the funeral due to the fact that he no longer feels safe on British soil having been stripped of automatic security while in the country. But a source told The Daily Beast that while this was part of the picture, challenging security arrangements were only one of a “multitude of reasons” why visits to the U.K. were problematic.
Harry and Meghan are due to travel to Colombia on Thursday for a tour of the country supporting an initiative aimed at combatting violence against children.
Another source, an old friend of Harry’s, told The Daily Beast: “It’s just all very sad. The idea that he wouldn’t be there to support Jane in her grief would have been unimaginable a few years ago.”
The near constant attempts to guilt-trip Harry… you would think they would settle down after five years. The narrative of the royalist media is always: Harry should drop everything, leave Meghan at home, put himself in danger, and fly 12 hours to attend this or that funeral/wedding/christening/memorial service/birthday party and if he doesn’t attend, it means that he’s estranged from everyone in the UK! Where is this energy for William? Has anyone asked if Holiday Beard Huevo will attend the funeral?
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