‘It was a non-starter!’ Duke and Duchess of Sussex ‘denied ride on Air Force One after Queen’s funeral’

21 July 2023

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were reportedly denied a ride on President Joe Biden’s Air Force One after the Queen’s funeral.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were reportedly denied a ride on President Joe Biden’s Air Force One after the Queen’s funeral

Prince Harry, 38, and his former ‘Suits’ actress wife Meghan, 41, are said to have asked if they could travel back to the US on the aircraft before the White House denied the request.

The Daily Mail reported there was concern that allowing the couple on the flight could cause offence to the Royal Family following the couple’s accusations of racism within its ranks and the publication of Harry’s controversial memoir ‘Spare’ which laid bare his turbulent relationships with his dad King Charles and older brother Prince William, 41.

The Mail said the claim came from multiple current and former officials in the Biden administration, as well as the British government.

Sources said there was barely any discussion of the couple travelling on Air Force One after the Queen’s funeral in September after her death aged 96, as the idea was a “non-starter”.

One insider said: “It would have caused such a commotion. It would have strained relations with the Palace and the new King.”

There was also apparently concern about how the cost of them travelling on board the plane could have been justified to US taxpayers.

Crisis communications specialist Andy Barr told the Daily Mirror he believes the apparent snub from the White House was a way to “keep a bit of distance from the couple” following Harry’s “security-staff-drama” in the UK that saw him lose his fight in May to bring a legal challenge against the Home Office over its refusal to allow him to pay for police protection while in Britain.

Andy said about the duke and his wife, who gave up senior royal duties as part of their infamous ‘Megxit’ deal to move to America: “Harry and Meghan forgot the golden rule of giving up a globally respected royal title: you become just like us ordinary folk… Biden’s team would have been worried about the optics, and the precedence it would have set, for other A-Listers. If he had said ‘Yes’, where would it end? Giving a Kardashian a lift to their next Instagram shoot?

“Biden and his team are probably also still smarting over the fall out some time ago from their getting embroiled in the security-staff-drama and will be keen to try and keep a bit of distance from the couple.”