Harry and Meghan insist Charles snubbed THEM over his 75th birthday party: New family row as couple say they had ‘no contact’ from Palace amid claims they refused to attend – as pals ask if story was ‘briefed to distract from how badly Kenya trip went’

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have had no contact with Buckingham Palace about an invitation to celebrations for King Charles’ 75th birthday, their spokesperson has confirmed. 

King Charles III is set to celebrate his 75th next Tuesday on November 14 with a party at Clarence House with his closest friends and family. 

The Sunday Times reported that Prince Harry turned down an invitation to the birthday bash, and instead will stay in California. 

But a spokesperson for the Sussexes told MailOnline that the couple weren’t ever contacted about the celebrations in the first place. 

‘There has been no contact regarding an invitation to His Majesty’s upcoming birthday. It is disappointing the Sunday Times has misreported this story,’ they said. 

A source close to the Sussexes told MailOnline that not only were the pair not invited, they were completely unaware of any party until the stories broke. 

Prince Harry (pictured, centre) has reportedly not spoken to his father, King Charles III, for a long time 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have bitterly fallen out with the rest of his family over the last few years

A source close to the couple said Harry and Meghan had not even received an invitation to King Charles’ birthday plans

King Charles is set to celebrate his 75th birthday with a bash at Clarence House next week 

‘They had not received any invitation and were unaware of any celebrations until the stories came out,’ the source said. 

They added that the Sussexes would normally have been included in plans for significant events, despite the widening gap between themselves and the rest of the royal family.

‘In this case, they aren’t and that’s okay. I’m sure the Duke will find a way to reach out privately to wish His Majesty a happy birthday like he always done.’

‘The story in The Times as well as subsequent stories have been positioned in a way to make it look like the Duke is snubbing his father, which he is not.’ 

A friend of the couple suggested the Palace could even have leaked the snubbing story to media to take attention off the King and Queen’s recent visit to Kenya, where demonstrators demanded he apologise for Britain’s colonial past.

‘The story is being positioned in a way to make it look like the Duke is snubbing his father, which he is not,’ the friend said.

‘Considering the trip didn’t go well, this might be a welcome distraction.’

Meanwhile the spokesperson for Meghan and Harry also denied that Meghan will be making a return to acting following reports earlier this week. 

Relations have been strained since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as senior royals and moved to California.

They made a number of claims about their treatment by the Palace, including in a wide-reaching interview with Oprah and in Harry’s memoir.

Though the Duke since attended the coronation of his father at Westminster Abbey in May, his relationship with King Charles remains fractured – with the Royal Family not publicly noting his birthday in September.

The King and Queen at Fort Jesus, in Mombasa Old Town, during their visit to Kenya last week

Prince Harry (pictured, left) and Meghan Markle (pictured, right) were not spoken to about the party by Buckingham Palace, their spokesperson said

King Charles is set to celebrate his 75th birthday on November 14 at Clarence House

Relations between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family are strained, following a year of media brawling

An insider has claimed that the Duke of Sussex didn’t receive any personal well-wishes from his brother, Prince William, or his father King Charles.

In fact, they told The Telegraph: ‘Communications between the King and Prince Harry remain pretty poor. They don’t speak much, if at all.’

They said that one possible reason for this is that King Charles was disappointed with the way that Harry wrote about Queen Camilla in his autobiography, Spare. 

The Duke said his stepmother is ‘dangerous’ and a ‘villain’ who left ‘bodies in the street’.

He wrote in Spare: ‘I have complex feelings about gaining a step-parent who I thought had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar.’

Harry also accused Charles and Camilla of ‘planting stories’ about William and his family: ‘Give Pa and Camilla an inch, he said, they take a mile.’

He told Good Morning America in an interview shortly after Spare was published: ‘We haven’t spoken for a long time. I love every member of my family, despite the differences. 

‘So when I see her, we’re perfectly pleasant with each other. She’s my stepmother. I don’t look at her as an evil stepmother. 

‘I see someone who married into this institution, and done everything she can to improve her own reputation and her own image, for her own sake.’ 

A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace declined to comment, saying that the Palace does not comment on personal family matters.