The royals seem to snub each other on a daily basis, and sometimes,
they even snub from the grave. But some rude gestures stand out above the rest.
Queen Elizabeth's death brought the UK to a standstill. She'd
been a figure in the public eye for decades, and when she passed,
an era had come to an end. The royal family came out in full force to honor her and were
joined by now-California-based royals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. When the estranged
couple finally reunited with the Britain-based family, all eyes were plastered on their dynamic.
Harry and Meghan were royally snubbed during the queen's official funeral at Westminster Abbey when
they were seated behind primary royal members. Harry and Meghan had seemingly been shoved into
a corner spot in the second row, seated next to Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
Newly-named King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, were seated in the front row alongside
Prince William and Princess Catherine of Wales. They were joined by the queen's children — even
the disgraced Prince Andrew. The visual certainly wasn't on Harry and Meghan's side.
In 1997, the entire globe mourned when Princess Diana tragically died at the young age of 36.
The people's princess was adored by many and quite loved in her brief but impactful
life. Though the public shed many tears at her loss, Princess Margaret was not one of
them. According to Express, Margaret had a few opinions about Diana during her life and death,
which eventually manifested themselves as a huge snub at Diana's funeral.
When Diana and then-Prince Charles were at the end of their marriage,
Margaret was said to have predicted just how messy things would get. She was reportedly
furious at Diana for tarnishing the royal family's reputation in the public eye. So
much so that the princess apparently refused to have magazines with Diana
on the front cover in her presence or let her children speak to the Princess of Wales.
Diana was given a royal funeral despite being divorced from Charles. Even Queen Elizabeth
bowed her head to her coffin as it passed by the massive crowd. But Margaret gave a
movement in response to the coffin that has been compared to swatting a fly away with her hand.
In 1992, three out of four of Queen Elizabeth's children were in the midst of separating from
their spouses, a huge no-no for the royal family. Prince Charles and Princess Diana's divorce was
the most high profile, given that Charles was the direct heir to the throne. By 2005,
King Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort, had made their decades-long relationship
public and intended to finally tie the knot. When arrangements were made for them to get married,
the queen made one thing clear — she would not be attending.
Charles and Camilla got married in a civil ceremony at Windsor
Guildhall before having a religious blessing at St. George's Chapel on
the Windsor Castle grounds. Elizabeth didn't attend her son's civil ceremony,
citing her role as head of the Church of England as her reasoning. She couldn't condone a marriage
between two people who had been divorced, since it was looked down on by the church.
But Elizabeth and Prince Philip did host a reception for Charles and Camilla after the
ceremonies took place, seemingly doing what they could to indicate they approved of the union.
By the time King Charles assumed the crown, Prince Harry had made his thoughts about the
firm and its relationship with the British press clear. Harry has maintained that he
has nothing but love for his family — it's the institution that he doesn't agree with.
"To see this institutional gaslighting that happens is…it's extraordinary."
Charles went about his duties as king in a way that certainly indicated that
Harry's commentary was not well received.
Charles officially made Princess Anne and Prince Edward, his two younger siblings,
his Counsellors of State, which means they can now step in for the king during official events.
According to royal biographer Angela Levin, Harry was enraged when Charles chose his siblings over
him. Charles allegedly saw it as the only option. Levin explained to the Daily Mail:
"[Harry] lives in California, he's stopped being a working royal, so why should he [be
a Counsellor of State]? It isn't about Harry but instead what the king needs."
When Prince William married Princess Catherine in 2011,
it was like watching a fairytale. In the aftermath of the wedding,
they were compared to Prince Charming and Cinderella. Social media can be pretty cruel,
however, comparing Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie to the two ugly sisters.
The princesses' outfits had everyone talking, except for perhaps one person — their mother.
Sarah Ferguson, who was married to Prince Andrew, not only kept her opinion to herself but went on
vacation amid the nuptials, as she didn't receive an invitation for the big day. She
asserted that she didn't expect an invitation to the wedding given her high-profile divorce from
Andrew and the icy relationship she had with the royals. Ferguson told Town & Country at the time:
"I didn't think I was probably worthy to go to their wedding. I took myself to Thailand,
actually, to be far away from it so that I could try and heal."
Though they had been at odds for years, Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles' divorce rocked the
royal family. Though the beloved Diana was able to negotiate a lucrative divorce settlement,
there were some things that Diana was not allowed to keep — security, certain royal perks,
and of course her HRH title. According to The Mirror, Queen Elizabeth was okay with Diana
keeping "Her Royal Highness" attached to her name given that her son, Prince William, would
one day be king. But Charles was adamant that she give it up amid their divorce proceedings.
Being stripped of HRH made it so she would have to curtsy to members of her own family,
including her own two sons, given that they were in line to the throne. William
made a heartbreaking promise to his mom amid her title rollback,
reportedly telling her that when he became king, he would restore her royal life to its former
glory. According to Diana's former butler Paul Burrell, a 14 year old William said:
"Don't worry Mummy, I will give it back to you one day when I am king."
Burrell later recalled that the conversation was incredibly tearful.
One of the first ceremonial events that a royal will experience is a christening. And
the christening is, by all accounts, a big deal. According to the Express,
the event additionally indicates who will be chosen as the baby's godparents. But even
with such a wealth of family members to choose from, it's not so simple.
When Prince Harry was christened, Princess Diana and Princess Anne reportedly got into a fight.
According to Angela Levin, author of Harry: Conversations with the Prince, Anne was bitter
over the fact that she had not been chosen to be Prince William's godmother. Six members of the
royal family were chosen to be godparents, and Anne hadn't been one of them. After her scuffle
with Princess Diana erupted, Anne ultimately decided not to attend Harry's christening.
The official line from Buckingham Palace at the time informed the public that Anne
would not be able to attend, but would meet up with the royal family in the afternoon.
But the princess went on a shooting trip instead to blow off some steam.
Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's exit from the royal family in 2020,
the public has been watching for any piece of evidence to speak to what things are really like
behind closed doors. As it happens, the royal family's social media tributes to Harry on his
36th birthday spoke volumes. Many omitted the person he chose to spend his life with — Meghan.
Prince William and Princess Catherine posted
a photo to Instagram of themselves and Harry in 2020 to mark his birthday. The post read:
"Wishing a very happy birthday to Prince Harry today!"
The photo was of William and Catherine racing Harry during an event that the
trio attended. Charles and Camilla wished Harry a happy birthday on social media,
posting a photo of him — once again — alone. Though the comments of the posts were rather
full of well wishes for the prince on his happy day, a number of commenters
pointed out the fact that Meghan was absent from all the pictures. One commenter wrote:
"This post is very petty. And using his bday as an opportunity to do it!"
You can't collect the worst royal snubs without mentioning this ongoing slight.
When Prince Edward married Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip
indicated that upon their passing, Edward would inherit the Duke of Edinburgh title.
Such a promise to Edward and Sophie was made not only amid their wedding but also
detailed on the royal website for years. The reality, however, is far less simple.
"The Queen and Prince Phillip have very strong ideas about how you do monarchy."
As of this moment, King Charles has not given the sought-after title
to his brother but is reportedly saving it for his granddaughter,
Princess Charlotte, despite his parents' wishes. A royal insider told the Daily
Mail that Edward will indeed be snubbed in the title process. The source said:
"Discussions are under way, but the favoured outcome for the King is that this title ought to
go to Princess Charlotte. It would be a fitting way to remember the Queen — who, of course,
had the title Duchess of Edinburgh — and a way for His Majesty to honour the line of succession."
King Charles allegedly will give the title to Charlotte to mark her being
the first female in line to the throne not overtaken by her younger brother.
In 2022, Prince Harry released his memoir, Spare. The pointed
title is in reference to him being the second son in succession to the throne.
From sharing what really happened between Meghan Markle and Princess Catherine, to detailing a
physical fight between him and Prince William, to positively dragging Camilla and her campaign to
win over the British public at Harry's expense, the book is certainly a tell all. But maybe the
largest bomb dropped was who Harry decided to thank — and not thank. Readers were certainly
halted in their tracks, as Harry notably kept his family members out of the book's acknowledgments.
"It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me,
and my father say things that just simply weren't true."
Harry thanked Oprah Winfrey, Meghan's mom, Doria Ragland, and a number of his therapists
for helping him overcome personal hurdles. But he kept his direct family members out of the
book's thanks. He did, however, thank Tyler Perry — who let Harry and Meghan stay in his
Los Angeles home when they left Canada. Harry also thanked his aunts and uncles on the Spencer side.