Prince Harry and Meghan Markle snubbed by Dutch royals
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have reportedly been snubbed by the Dutch royals ahead of Meghan’s first trip outside the US since ‘Megxit’ in 2020.
The couple will be travelling to The Netherlands for four days for The Invictus Games, which open on Easter Sunday. The Royals would historically stay with the Dutch royal family, headed by King Willem-Alexander, aged 54.
But Harry and Meghan have reportedly not been invited to stay at the palace in the Hague and will take a hotel instead.
The snub comes as the couple has apparently been denied the opportunity of armed security in the Netherlands. Harry and Meghan lost access to their British taxpayer-funded security in January 2020 when they stepped back as senior working royals.
They now have privately funded close personal protection in the US, but it has been reported that Dutch authorities will not permit the team to be armed while on Dutch soil. It is still unclear if the couple will visit the UK after their time in The Netherlands, after they did not return home for Prince Phillip’s memorial in London last month.
A legal representative for Harry has previously said the 37-year-old said the family was “unable to return home”, fearing it was too dangerous without security there.
On Monday, a spokesperson for Meghan and Harry confirmed that Meghan will attend the first few days of the Invictus Games.
The Invictus Games, co-founded by Prince Harry, pits sick and injured veterans against each other in sporting events, and is aimed at “showing how the power of sport can inspire and heal us all”.
The 2020 games were postponed to 2021, and then again to this year, because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Image: Getty