When King Charles made his speech at the state banquet during the French visit to the UK, the monarch made a sweet reference to Prince William but not his estranged son Harry. Royal expert Jennie Bond believes there’s more to the story
King Charles delivered a powerful message to his son Prince William at the state banquet on Tuesday, marking the end of the final day of the French state visit to the UK.
The banquet, which was attended by French president Emmanuel Macron, his wife Brigitte, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and hundreds of other guests, was held at Windsor Castle and saw the King give a moving speech about the royal family and their relationship with France.
During the address, the King spoke fondly about his eldest son Prince William, applauding his decision to establish his family home at Windsor, saying the move is doubly special given the castle’s Norman origins.
“The castle in which we meet this evening was begun by my ancestor — and your sometime countryman — William, Duke of Normandy, in the year 1070,” Charles said. “It remains the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world.”
“So it is perhaps rather appropriate that my son, the Prince of Wales, who shares that earlier William’s name, has made Windsor his home with his family, like so many of our predecessors,” the Ling added.
Many royal fans were quick to point out that the address made no mention of his estranged son Prince Harry, who quit royal life in 2020 with his wife Meghan Markle, and permanently relocated to California.
While many thought the lack of mention of Harry was a deliberate ‘snub’ by King Charles, royal expert Jennie Bond has another theory. The former BBC royal correspondent said that the King’s speech was not out of the ordinary.
Jennie Bond told The Mirror: “I don’t think it is significant at all that there was no mention of Harry. It would have been very odd indeed for the King to have mentioned him during a State occasion which was all about Anglo French relations.”
Bond went on to clarify: “His reference to William was simply because of his name, the castle and its association with the Duke of Normandy. In no way was this any kind of snub.
When asked if the Sussexes would have been impacted by being left out of the King’s speech and the French state visit at large, Jennie said: “I don’t imagine Harry or Meghan will have paid much attention to the Macron visit.
“If they did, they would probably feel relieved that they don’t have to get dressed up and perform what is a very delicate and probably quite stressful diplomatic duty.”
Given the years-long strained relationship between Prince Harry and King Charles, it’s no surprise that the monarch didn’t acknowledge the Duke of Sussex in his address.
Prince Harry recently told the BBC that he would “love a reconciliation” with his father, though he claimed the king “won’t speak” to him.
“There’s no point continuing to fight anymore, life is precious,” Harry said, adding that he has since “forgiven” them for their many “disagreements.”
