Prince Harry was accused on Saturday of “disparaging” Queen Elizabeth II for missing a religious ceremony for the comfort of her late husband, Prince Philip, his grandfather, who died last April.
A spokesman for Harry announced Friday that the prince will not attend the funeral service, which will be held on March 29 at Westminster Abbey, while it was reported that he will attend the “Invictus Games” sports that start in the Netherlands two weeks after the funeral.
And after the topic of the war in Ukraine topped the newspaper “The Sun” for several days, the newspaper’s headline on its front page “Harry underestimates Philip.” In the article “The Sun”, royal biographer Angela Levine accused Harry, who lives in California, of “blackmail” in connection with the memorial services of his grandfather, Prince Philip, after the UK government decided to stop providing him with royal security protection.
Levine told British media that the second son of the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, “did not underestimate the Duke of Edinburgh (Philip), but in fact underestimated the Queen.”
Prince Philip, who was married to the Queen for 73 years, died last April, a few weeks before his 100th birthday.
His burial was held under strict health restrictions, and only 30 people, including Prince Harry, participated in it. After a limited burial, a memorial funeral service is an opportunity to hold a national celebration of the Duke of Edinburgh’s long life and tenure.
On Friday, Harry’s spokesman did not say why the prince did not attend his grandfather’s memorial service, indicating that he hoped to visit his grandmother “soon.”
The burial was one of only two occasions on which Prince Harry has returned to the United Kingdom since he and his wife, Meghan, withdrew from royal life and moved to North America two years ago.
As a result, the UK government stopped the tax-financed security protection for the Prince during his visits to Britain, prompting Harry to challenge this decision in the courts.
Commentators wondered why Prince Harry feels insecure during his visit to Britain, while he does not feel so in the Netherlands, where he will attend the “Invictus Games”, a sporting event established by the Prince for disabled veterans, and it will start in The Hague on April 16.
ITV News royal editor Chris Ship tweeted that Harry was going ahead with his week-long event and “said he doesn’t feel safe in (UK) without the security he demands.”