On Tuesday, King Charles celebrated his 75th birthday.
A milestone birthday for a sitting monarch is always a momentous occasion, but this was an especially noteworthy event, as it marked Charles’ first birthday since his coronation back in May.
Unfortunately for Charles and his handlers, the big day was overshadowed by yet another controversy involving the king’s troubled family.
After a source close to Buckingham Palace claimed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had decided not to attend the king’s birthday party, the Sussexes issued a statement of their own, in which they offered a very different version of events.
According to Harry and Meghan, they never received an invitation to the party.
And in their comments to the press, the couple slammed a UK newspaper for furthering a false narrative.
“There has been no contact regarding an invitation to His Majesty’s upcoming birthday,” said a rep for the Sussexes.
“It is disappointing the Sunday Times has misreported this story.”
But then, in what can only be described as a king’s birthday miracle, what looked to be another standoff between the two warring factions of the royal family yielded a long overdue sign of easing tensions within the Windsor clan.
Despite the tiff over the invitation, Harry and Meghan made a phone call to Charles on his birthday.
Insiders say the king happily accepted the call and spent several minutes chatting with the couple and their two children.
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But happy families don’t generate clicks or sell newspapers, so we shouldn’t be surprised that the tabloid media is already putting a negative spin on this situation.
According to a new report from Page Six, one insider has blasted Harry and Meghan as “total hypocrites” for leaking the details of the call to a media outlet.
“Harry and Meghan fight for privacy when it suits them, and yet the minute Harry gets on the phone to the King, it’s in a newspaper,” says the source.
It’s true that news of the call went public on the same day that it happened.
However, we have no way of confirming how word got out.
But it should come as no surprise that the media is defaulting to blaming it all on Harry and Meghan.
Thankfully, at least one insider is defending the Sussexes.
A second source tells Page Six that Harry’s intentions in contacting his father were entirely pure, and he looks forward to speaking with Charles again in the days to come.
“Of course Harry wants to have a better relationship with Charles. He is his father after all,” says the insider.
Again, that’s not the sort of sentiment that generates eye-catching headlines, so it’s a safe bet that that part of the story will be widely ignored.
That said, we’re hoping for another leak so we can find out what Harry and Charles will discuss on their second call.
We’re guessing it won’t be the new season of The Crown!