The wedding for the Duke and Duchess of Westminster may have been a royal affair, but one royal in particular was notably missing in action.
Despite receiving an invitation from groom and longtime friend Hugh Grosvenor, Prince Harry decided to skip the nuptials, which took place today at Chester Cathedral in northern England. A source tells Bazaar that Harry spoke to the duke in November about missing the ceremony, citing the possibility of a media circus as one reason he wouldn’t attend the milestone event.
Indeed, it’s likely Harry’s presence would have caused a stir, given that his brother, Prince William, served as an usher for the ceremony. (Cousin Princess Eugenie also attended the wedding). A run-in between the estranged brothers would surely have incited a frenzy among the public, who have not seen Harry and William at the same event since the May 2023 coronation of their father, King Charles III.
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People had previously reported that the November conversation led to an “understanding between the two friends,” and that both Harry and Hugh had mutually come to the agreement.
In addition to circumventing an awkward reunion, Harry has also experienced some struggles with security while traveling to the United Kingdom. Since he and Duchess Meghan stepped away from their roles as senior royals back in 2020, the two now receive a downgraded level of police protection in the country—a governmental decision that Harry has challenged in court.
“The U.K. will always be Prince Harry’s home and a country he wants his wife and children to be safe in … . With the lack of police protection comes too great a personal risk,” a spokesperson said in a statement released in 2022. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex personally fund a private security team for their family, yet that security cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed whilst in the U.K. In the absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home.”
As an associate editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, Chelsey keeps a finger on the pulse on all things celeb news. She also writes on social movements, connecting with activists leading the fight on workers’ rights, climate justice, and more. Offline, she’s probably spending too much time on TikTok, rewatching Emma (the 2020 version, of course), or buying yet another corset.