Prince Harry shut down reports that he had rejected an invitation to his father King Charles' 75th birthday earlier this week with the duke claiming he has had "no contact" from his family and was actually snubbed instead.

The Duke of Sussex, who lives across the Atlantic from his royal relatives in California with his wife Meghan Markle and their two kids, was said to have been invited to the monarch's birthday bash at Clarence House next week.

However, a spokesperson for the Sussexes' claimed there never was an invitation sent, nor any contact made, the Mirror reports.

Now a friend of the former royal couple has suggested that the Palace could have leaked the "snubbing" story to take attention away from the negative reception during the recent Royal visit to Kenya.

While in Kenya, King Charles faced calls to apologise for Britain's colonial past and now royal experts are claiming that the timing of the intervention by the couple was "particularly inappropriate".

Britain's King Charles III and Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex walk behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, adorned with a Royal Standard and the Imperial State Crown and pulled by a Gun Carriage of The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, during a procession from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster, in London on September 14, 2022.
Prince Harry rubbished claims that he rejected an invitation to his father's birthday next week as he claims he has not heard anything from the King at all

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams spoke to MailOnline about the duke and duchess' "snub" and also touched on how King Charles opened Parliament on Tuesday for his first time as monarch.

Speaking to the paper, he said: "The very same day [as the King opening Parliament], with particularly inappropriate timing, the Sussexes are back in the news.

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"They deny a report in the Sunday Times that they turned down an invitation to the King's 75th birthday. Harry, an insider tells us, will reach out to his father privately.

"A source has also suggested that the report was timed to distract attention away from the recent trip by King Charles and Queen Camilla to Kenya".

King Charles III gives a speech at a State Banquet hosted by President Ruto at State House, along with distinguished guests from Kenya and the United Kingdom on October 31, 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya.
It's been claimed that the Palace leaked the 'fake' story to take attention away from King Charles' recent visit to Kenya where he made a controversial speech that touched on Britain's colonial past

Mr Fitzwilliams continued to say that the monarch performed a "sensitive balancing act when visiting an important ally in Africa".

He claims that the visit had been regarded as a success before adding "This attitude shows the level of the Sussexes sense of entitlement".

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Touching on the "hard work" that King Charles and Queen Camilla put in on their four-day tour, he said: "Nothing compared to the Sussexes personal feelings".

Elsewhere in his chat with the paper, he added: "The rift in the Royal Family could not be wider," before adding that he hopes "another memoir" is not in the works on Harry and Meghan's part.

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