Why Harry and Meghan Invited Famous People to Daughter Lilibet’s Birthday Party Instead of Royals

Princess Lilibet celebrated her third birthday on June 4, 2024, and it's said that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry invited just a few people, not including any members of the Royal Family. With a pre-birthday party, they kicked off the celebrations early at their Montecito, California, home. As reported by Mirror, royal author Tom Quinn claimed Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom were among the celebrities present.

Quinn told the outlet, "Rather than going for a low-key celebration Harry and Markle have spent the past weekend enjoying a pre-birthday bash for their daughter Lillibet's third birthday – hugely expensive presents have been ruled out but the couple's mansion in California was awash with celebrities including Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom and their daughter Daisy who is just a few months older than Lilibet."

Upon leaving the royal family, Markle and Harry became neighbors with the couple, along with other Tinseltown celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow, Ellen DeGeneres, and Oprah Winfrey. Quinn added, "Shockingly no invitations to Lilibet's party were issued to members of the Royal Family. One of Harry's old army friends said, 'Harry knew they wouldn't come anyway and he was pretty sure he would not have wanted them there. But he is really sad that Archie and Lilibet cannot have any kind of relationship with their cousins while his feud with his family continues.'"

The pair allegedly decided to keep Lilli's birthday bash under wraps. Meanwhile, the royal family also did not wish the young princess on social media or through public statements in the last two years. They went silent after drawing notice for deleting the bio pages of Archie and Lilli off the royal family's website a few months ago. The site included individual biographies of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the same vein as the rest of the royal family. Now, however, the couple's biographies have been merged: "As announced in January 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have stepped back as working members of the Royal Family. The couple married in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor on 19 May 2018 and have two children: Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex."

The apparent rejection comes as tensions between the Royal Family and Markle and Harry persist. Reportedly, Princess Lilibet's only UK visit in 2022 was to celebrate her first birthday at Frogmore Cottage, the couple's old Windsor home. Queen Elizabeth II supposedly, on that occasion, had her first opportunity to see her eleventh grandchild three months before her death. As per Mirror, Quinn also said, "King Charles had no intention of completely ignoring Lilibet's birthday so he has sent a gift along with a message... He gave Prince George a beautiful hand-made wooden swing with George's name carved on it and he has plans to give something similar to Lilibet but not this year. And not unless and until the family feud dies down."