Prince Harry, Meghan Markle unwilling to heal rift with family, says royal expert

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are accused of not wanting to heal their alleged rift with the British royals because they snubbed Princess Diana's memorial party.

Royal expert Penny Junor claimed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are "not interested" in patching things up with the royals. She said the snub is a great disappointment given that they were in New York for three days and could not commit to a single day for the gathering.

"It is a great shame they are not coming," the royal commentator said in an interview with The Sun.

Junor warned that "the longer they stay away the greater the rift and the more difficult it is to come back from," adding "they don't come back and the rift continues."

Junor, author of "Prince Harry: Brother, Soldier, Son" claimed that "there is a lot of work to be done." She called it "a shame" that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle "can't come back." She said their decision not to return to London for Princess Diana's memorial party "shows they are not interested in making things work."

The said gathering will be held on Oct. 19 at Kensington Palace as a thank you for the donors who helped fund Princess Diana's statue at the Sunken Garden. Prince William be there as well as friends and family including the late princess' siblings, Elton John and his husband David Furnish, and other donors. Likewise, Sunken Garden's designer Pip Morrison and sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley will attend.

On the contrary, it is said that the couple's decision not to be there at the memorial party is a good thing so they can avoid an awkward reunion with the royals. But to make up for his absence, Prince Harry is reportedly reaching out to donors privately. The last time he was in London was on July 1 to help his brother unveil their mother's statue.

As for Meghan Markle, she has not been back in the U.K. since she and Prince Harry stepped back as senior royals in March 2020. It is unclear when they plan to return to London together although rumours have it they will be back in December with their two children Archie and Lilibet.