Why Prince William and Kate Middleton didn't attend Lilibet's birthday party

9 June 2022, 12:00

By Alice Dear

@According2Al

Prince William and Kate Middleton were very busy over the Platinum Jubilee weekend and did not attend Lilibet's first birthday party.

Prince Harry, 37, and Meghan Markle, 40, returned to Frogmore Cottage last weekend for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

During their time in the United Kingdom, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex marked their daughter's first birthday with an intimate party held at their old Windsor residence.

The Queen is believed to have attended the family event to meet Lilibet, who is named after the Monarch, for the first time.

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It has not been confirmed who else was in attendance at the party, but we do know Prince William, 39, and Kate Middleton, 40, were not.

So, the question is, why were William, Kate, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis not part of Lilibet's first birthday celebrations?

Well, according to one source their absence was only caused by a conflict in schedules.

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On the day that Lilibet's birthday party was held, June 4, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their two eldest children were visiting Wales as part of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The source told Entertainment Tonight: "It's simply a coincidence they fell on the same day".

They added that there was "no intended slight."

According to Page Six via Marie Claire, William and Kate (and their kids) were invited to the party by Harry and Meghan as "an olive branch".

However, they did add that feeling between the brothers are "still fraught" and William "is still wary of spending any time alone with Harry as you never quite know what may be reported back afterwards".

While reports of a growing feud between William and Harry started back in 2018, it wasn't until 2019 that the public were given some sort of inclination that these reports of a falling out could be true.

During the ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, Harry explained in an interview that he and his older brother were "on different paths".

He said: "Part of this role and part of this job, and this family, being under the pressure that it’s under, inevitably, you know, stuff happens."

“But look, we’re brothers, we’ll always be brothers. And we’re certainly on different paths at the moment, but I’ll always be there for him, as I know he’ll always be there for me.”

Harry added at the time: "We don’t see each other as much as we used to because we’re so busy, but you know, I love him dearly. The majority of this stuff [in the press] is created out of nothing, but you know, as brothers, you know, you have good days, you have bad days.”

Things became more uncomfortable for the family in March 2021 when Meghan and Harry sat down for a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey.

In April this year, royal correspondent Katie Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight that the brothers were looking to rebuild their relationship.

She explained: "Harry, I’m told, suggested perhaps that they might get some sort of a mediator in on sort of these talks, to make some progress.

"It was something that he had suggested to his father. He’s made it very clear that he wants to sort things out. He wants things to be improved.”

Read more Royal Family news:

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• The Queen's sweet conversation with Prince Louis during Trooping the Colour revealed
• Prince George and Princess Charlotte had the best reaction to the Queen's Paddington video