King Charles Gifts Himself A Prince Harry Snub For His Birthday

November 14 marked the birthday of King Charles III, reports CNN, and this year was his first birthday as the newly appointed monarch, following the heartbreaking death of Queen Elizabeth II in September. In honor of his special day, the 74-year-old was officially granted the role of Ranger of Windsor Great Park after his father, Prince Philip, who held the title for almost 70 years until his death in 2021 (per Daily Mail).

Birthday festivities took place at Buckingham Palace, including a performance of "Happy Birthday" by the Household Cavalry Band and a 41-gun royal salute by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery. The king also received some warm messages on social media commemorating his birthday. Prince William and Catherine Middleton, Prince and Princess of Wales, tweeted early in the day, "Wishing a very happy birthday to His Majesty The King!" along with a photo of the monarch smiling. Buckingham Palace posted a similar birthday message on its official Twitter account.

According to the BBC, King Charles enjoyed the day privately, away from the public and official engagements. However, he did prepare a message for parliament — and the statement says a lot about Prince Harry's place in the royal family.

On King Charles III's birthday, a parliament meeting was held where a statement made by the king was read aloud to the House of Lords. In the statement, the king made a surprise request to expand the​​ Counsellors of State to include his brother and sister — Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, and Anne, Princess Royal.

According to Reuters, the Counsellors act in place of the king if he is unavailable and are generally composed of the monarch's spouse and the four adults next in line to the throne. For King Charles, this currently includes Prince Harry and Prince Andrew, two members who no longer fulfill regular royal duties. Additionally, BBC notes, Harry now calls the U.S. his home and wouldn't be available as a Counsellor of State in the U.K. The move by the king to allow his brother and sister to stand in for him would, as read in his statement, "ensure continued efficiency of public business when I'm unavailable, such as while I'm undertaking official duties overseas."

Still, others have seen the request as a clear snub. Royal journalist Richard Eden tweeted, "#KingCharles is celebrating his birthday by making sure that #PrinceHarry and #PrinceAndrew can never represent him again, as two of his four Counsellors of State. He's right to do so." Royal expert Angela Levin similarly told Daily Mail that the request was a "slight to Harry," adding, "Harry and Meghan would be absolutely furious."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, did not publicly wish King Charles III a happy birthday — an omission that didn't go unnoticed by some royal watchers. While Prince William and Catherine Middleton, Prince and Princess of Wales, posted a birthday tribute to Charles on Twitter, Harry and Meghan failed to do the same on their Archewell website, according to the Mirror. 

There are also reports that the couple will not accept an invitation from Charles to spend Christmas with the royal family. And Harry and Meghan also reportedly turned down the king's offer for the duke and duchess — as well as their two children — to stay with him at Balmoral last summer. "[Charles] thought it might be a good opportunity for everyone to take stock and relax, but the invitation was declined," a source told the Mirror.

With their relationship seemingly more strained than ever, it is unknown if the Sussexes will be in attendance at Charles' coronation in June 2023. In fact, it is unclear if Harry and Meghan will even get an invite, with sources saying that Charles is waiting to see what is revealed in Harry's upcoming memoir before making a decision, per Daily Beast.