Prince Harry, Meghan Markle have 'open invitation' to join royals at Balmoral

British Royal Family members are expected to keep up with the tradition of spending the summer holidays at Balmoral following Queen Elizabeth II's death. King Charles III is scheduled to be there next weekend, but Prince Harry is unlikely to join the family amid reports of his still-strained relationship with his father.

It has been three years since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex left their public life behind in the U.K. and settled for a more private one in their Montecito mansion in Santa Barbara, California with their children, Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2. In those years, they rarely attended royal engagements given the deterioration of their relationships with senior family members following their explosive Oprah interview in March 2021 and their subsequent public criticisms of the institution.

Meghan Markle last returned to London with Prince Harry for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. She did not join him when he attended King Charles III's coronation at Westminster Abbey on May 6 this year.

But with the summer holidays approaching, royal family members are expected to join His Majesty at the Scottish royal retreat. According to the Daily Mail's royal editor Rebecca English, "All family members, I am told, are expected to stay at some point over the next few weeks. That is, except the Duke and Duchess of Sussex whose 'open invitation' to join family gatherings hasn't exactly been rescinded, but is certainly not expected to be accepted."

She added, "Relations between father and son, I understand, are still not good, although the family feel encouraged by claims that Harry and Meghan are now determined to focus on the future rather than family recriminations. If true, that can only be a good thing and may offer a sliver of hope that at some point in the future personal relationships can be rebuilt."

English cited one source close to the royal family who told her that "it's been a very visibly challenging year when it comes to the Sussexes." She mentioned Prince Harry's memoir "Spare," which she said King Charles III has not read yet, "but is aware of its contents."

She likewise shared that contact between the Duke of Sussex and Prince William is "non-existent and there doesn't seem to be a reconciliation in the offing any time soon." The Duke of Sussex confirmed during an interview ahead of the release of "Spare" on Jan. 10 that he is no longer on speaking terms with his father and brother.

English cited another insider who claimed that the subject of his brother is "very much off-limits" to Prince William saying, "It's sad, but it is what is. This is a family as well as an institution."

Among the royal family members due to stay at Balmoral are Prince William and Kate Middleton, along with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and their two children are also expected, along with Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, and her children Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, with their respective families. English claimed that Prince Andrew is also expected at Balmoral with his daughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice and their families.

Meanwhile, it is unclear what Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have planned to do for the summer. Last year in September, they were guests at the One Young World Summit in Manchester where the duchess, who has been a One Young World (OYW) counsellor since 2014, delivered a keynote address at the opening ceremony. They then headed to Düsseldorf, Germany to mark one year until the Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023. They had to cancel their visit to the WellChild Awards in London on Sept. 8 following news of Queen Elizabeth II's death.