Royal Snubs That Made Us All Cringe

To say that the royals have graced us with incredible moments over the decades is certainly an understatement. From then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding of the century to Princess Margaret's own iconic moments with rockstars and nobility throughout her life, the royals know how to create some incredible memories for the Commonwealth — no wonder they're often looked at as rallying symbols for Great Britain and beyond. But, as is typical in any family — and the royals are just that — there are some incredibly awkward interactions that speak much louder than words.

Royal watchers of today can tell you that the world has stood watching with bated breath as Prince William and Prince Harry duel it out in the public eye. What started as rumors about a feud has turned into an all-out war, with Harry's memoir "Spare" seemingly putting the final nail in the coffin. The book itself was full of perceived snubs, and it'll be a miracle if the brothers ever see eye to eye. But royal snubs have existed as long as the family itself has, and though William and Harry are the ones currently in the headlines, they certainly shouldn't be alone. From Princess Anne and Diana's well-documented distaste for one another to Queen Elizabeth's refusal to attend Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles' wedding, there are a lot of snubs to account for.

Though we all knew it was coming given her advancing age and increasing health issues, Queen Elizabeth's death certainly brought the world to a standstill. She'd been a figure in the public eye for decades, and when she passed, it felt as though an era had come to an end. Of course, the royal family came out in full force to honor her and were joined by now-California-based royals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. It would take an entirely separate article to break down what's happened between Harry, Meghan, and the royals but let's just say that the tension was palpable. When the couple finally did reunite with the Britain-based clan, all eyes were plastered on their dynamic — let's just say the snub was real.

Harry and Meghan were royally snubbed by the family during the queen's official funeral at Westminster Abbey when they were seated behind primary members of the royal family (via Page Six). Not reuniting the "fab four," Harry and Meghan were essentially shoved into a corner spot in the second row, seated next to Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Newly-named King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, were seated in the front row alongside Prince William and Princess Catherine of Wales and were joined by the queen's children — even the disgraced Prince Andrew. The visual certainly was not on Harry and Meghan's side.

Though Queen Elizabeth was known for her dedication to the crown, she wasn't always directly in line to the throne. Elizabeth's uncle Edward VIII became king in 1936 but quickly abdicated the same year so he could marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee of whom the crown did not approve. The change made Elizabeth's father King George VI ruler of the Commonwealth, and his untimely death in 1952 made Elizabeth queen at an incredibly young age. When she did sit on the throne, Elizabeth gave the title of Duke and Duchess of Windsor to the disgraced Edward and Wallis, who were living outside of Great Britain at the time. This doesn't sound so bad, right? As it turns out, the titles and how they have aged say quite a lot about the royals' feelings toward the couple.

Edward and Wallis — who were arguably hated by the British public — were the last people to ever use the Duke and Duchess of Windsor title (via Express). It has since been banned, dying with them in 1972 and 1986 respectively. After Edward abdicated in 1936, he and Wallis were not allowed to come to an official royal event until 1967 — more than 30 years later — and Edward died just five years after that. One particular moment doesn't capture just how much these two were snubbed by the firm over the years and to this day.

The world erupted in sadness when Princess Diana tragically died at the young age of 36. The people's princess was adored by many, and her life cut short marked the end of a royal era. Though the public shed many tears at her loss, Princess Margaret was not one of them. Margaret had a few opinions about Diana during her life and death, which eventually manifested themselves as a huge snub at Diana's funeral (via Express).

When Diana and then-Prince Charles were on the declining end of their marriage, Margaret was said to have predicted just how messy things would get. Despite having an inkling as to what would happen between the couple, Margaret was said to be furious at Diana for tarnishing the royal family's reputation in the public eye, so much so that the princess reportedly refused to have magazines with Diana on the front cover in her presence or let her children speak to the Princess of Wales.

When Diana died tragically in 1997, she was given a royal funeral despite being divorced from Charles, and even the queen bowed to her coffin as it passed by. Margaret, meanwhile, gave a movement in response to the coffin that has been compared to swatting a fly away with her hand (via Express). Even death could not dampen Margaret's disdain.

When she first came onto the royal scene, questions about Meghan Markle's relationship with Catherine, Princess of Wales, immediately jumped into the headlines. The two women could not be more different in personality or identity, and while they appeared to get along in the early years of Prince Harry and Meghan's relationship, the brotherly feud and the annexation of Harry and Meghan seemingly tarnished Meghan and Catherine's relationship beyond repair.

In the wake of Queen Elizabeth's death, Harry and Meghan reunited with Prince William and Catherine in a very surprising joint appearance outside of Windsor Castle. While the public celebrated the brothers' coming together, a body language expert asserted that Catherine gave Meghan the cold shoulder throughout the event. Katia Loisal assessed that Catherine made the typically confident Meghan nervous throughout their walkabout, never meeting her eyes and charging ahead with the stiff-upper-lip approach (via Geo News).

"Quite unlike the confident Meghan we know, Meghan appeared ill at ease during this encounter, which is not surprising given the recent criticism that she has faced," Loisal said (via Geo News). "On numerous occasions Meghan looked over at Kate, however, the gaze wasn't reciprocated. ... Meghan's hand lifted hesitantly as if to wave, but stopped mid air, rather pausing to adjust her hair, her head and gaze lowered."

When 1992 rolled around, Queen Elizabeth was in for a roller coaster ride. Three out of her four children were in the midst of separating from their spouses, a huge no-no for the royal family. Ultimately, they all got divorced, with then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana's divorce being the most high profile, given that Charles was the direct heir to the throne. By 2005, Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort, had made their decades-long relationship public and intended to finally tie the knot. When such arrangements were made for them to get married, however, the queen made one thing clear — she would not be attending.

Charles and Camilla got married in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall before having a religious blessing at St. George's Chapel on the Windsor Castle grounds (via Hello!). Though it was her son's big day, Elizabeth did not attend the civil ceremony, citing her role as head of the Church of England as her reasoning. Simply put, she could not condone a marriage between two people who had been divorced, since this is looked down upon by the church. Talk about a snub!

Elizabeth and Prince Philip did, however, host a reception for Charles and Camilla after the ceremonies took place, seemingly doing what they could to indicate they approved of the union. 

By the time King Charles assumed the crown, his son, Prince Harry, had made his thoughts about the firm and its relationship with the press clear. Harry, for all the press he has done and the experiences he has talked about, has maintained throughout that he has nothing but love for his family — it's the institution that he does not agree with. Nevertheless, Charles went about his duties as king in a way that certainly appeared like a snub to his son, indicating that his commentary was not well received.

As noted by the Daily Mail, Charles officially made Princess Anne and Prince Edward, his two younger siblings, his Counsellors of State — essentially, they can now step in for the king during official events. According to royal biographer Angela Levin, Harry was enraged when Charles chose his siblings instead of his son, even though Charles likely saw it as the only option.

"Of course, it is a slight to Harry and Andrew — but there's a good reason and it's necessary," Levin asserted. "[Harry] lives in California, he's stopped being a working royal, so why should he [be a Counsellor of State]? It isn't about Harry' but instead what the king needs," Levin concluded, though the further annexation between Harry, Meghan Markle, and the rest of the royal family certainly doesn't appear to be getting better.

When Prince William married then-Kate Middleton in 2011, it was like watching a fairytale. In the aftermath of the wedding, William and Kate were compared to Prince Charming and Cinderella, with the dashing military uniform and stunning white gown. Social media can be pretty cruel, however, comparing Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie to the two ugly sisters. The princesses' equally outlandish outfits had everyone talking, except for perhaps one person — their mother. 

Sarah Ferguson, who was married to Prince Andrew, not only kept her opinion to herself but took herself on a vacation amid the nuptials, as she didn't receive an invitation for the big day. Fergie asserted that she didn't expect an invitation to the wedding given her high-profile divorce from Andrew and the icy relationship she had with the royals (Prince Philip especially). Instead, she jet-setted off on an adventure.

"I didn't think I was probably worthy to go to their wedding," Fergie said at the time (via Town & Country), noting that her relationship with the royal family hadn't thawed much over the years. "I took myself to Thailand, actually, to be far away from it so that I could try and heal." So, take a cue from Fergie — sometimes you just have to treat yourself when you've been dealt a pretty big blow.

Just the title of Prince Harry's memoir alone — "Spare" — indicated that he would hold nothing back. When people could sink their teeth into all the revelations the royal made in its pages, readers were certainly halted in their tracks — Harry notably kept his family members out of the book's acknowledgments, the Daily Mail notes.

Now, before we get into the details, we should note that it would've been a little odd for Harry to thank the members of the royal family in a book that pretty much dragged them and the institution. From sharing what really happened between Meghan Markle and Princess Catherine and the bridesmaids' dresses to detailing a physical fight between him and Prince William to positively dragging Camilla, Queen Consort, and her campaign to win over the British public at Harry's expense, the ginger prince held nothing back. When readers did skip to the acknowledgment section, however, they likely realized that Harry snubbed the entire family — add it to the pile.

Thanking Oprah Winfrey, friends James Corden and Chris Martin, Doria Ragland — Meghan's mother — and a number of his therapists for helping him overcome personal hurdles, Harry kept his direct family members out of the book's thanks. He did, however, thank Tyler Perry — who let Harry and Meghan stay in his Los Angeles home when they left Canada — as well as Princess Diana's siblings.

Though they had been at odds for years, Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles' divorce still rocked the royal family. Diana was beloved, and seeing her be cast aside from the royal family was heartbreaking. Though she was able to negotiate a lucrative divorce settlement, there were some things that Diana was not allowed to keep — security, certain royal perks, and of course her HRH title. As noted by The Mirror, Queen Elizabeth was actually fine with Diana keeping Her Royal Highness attached to her name given that her son, Prince William, would one day be king, but Charles was adamant that she give it up amid their divorce proceedings. The snub was truly felt.

Not only did Diana lose such a designation, but being stripped of HRH made it so she would have to curtsy to members of her own family — Charles, for certain, as well as her two sons, given that they were within the fold and in line to the throne. As for William, he made a heartbreaking promise to his mom amid her title rollback, reportedly telling her that when he became king, he would restore her royal life to its former glory.

"Don't worry Mummy, I will give it back to you one day when I am king," a 14-year-old William told his mother, according to Diana's former butler Paul Burrell (via The Mirror). The conversation was incredibly tearful, Burrell later recalled.

One of the first ceremonial events that a little royal will experience is a christening. Though we don't often consider the royal family to be particularly religious, their role within the Church of England allows for certain spiritual designations — the christening is, by all accounts, a big deal. As noted by Express, the event additionally indicates who will be chosen as the baby's godparents, and with such a wealth of family members to choose from, it should be easy, right? It's not so simple.

When Prince Harry was born and was christened shortly thereafter, Princess Diana and Princess Anne reportedly got into it. According to Angela Levin, author of "Harry: Conversations with the Prince," Anne was already bitter over the fact that she had not been chosen to be Prince William's godmother — to add insult to injury, six members of the royal family were chosen to be godparents, leaving Anne rather snubbed (via Express). When it was indicated that she would yet again not be chosen when it was Harry's turn, a huge fight erupted between her and Diana. Clearly upset, Anne didn't even attend the christening.

The official line from Buckingham Palace at the time informed the public that Anne would not be able to attend, but would meet up with the royal family in the afternoon. But, unofficially, the princess went on a shooting trip instead to blow off some steam.

Amid Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's feud with the royal family, everyone's been watching for clues. From whispers between the family members to social media activity, royal onlookers have been clamoring for any piece of evidence to speak to what things are really like for them all behind closed doors. As it happens, the royal family's social media tributes to Harry on his 36th birthday spoke volumes, as many omitted the person he chose to spend his life with — Meghan.

As noted by OK! at the time, Prince William and Princess Catherine posted a photo of themselves and Harry back in 2020 to mark his birthday. "Wishing a very happy birthday to Prince Harry today!" the post read (via Instagram), picturing William and Catherine racing Harry during an event the trio attended. Similarly, then-Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles wished Harry a happy birthday on social media, posting a photo of him – once again — alone (via Instagram). Though the comments of the posts were rather full of well wishes for the prince on his happy day, a number of commenters pointed out the fact that Meghan was absent from all the pictures marking the prince's birthday. "This post is very petty. And using his bday as an opportunity to do it!" one commenter wrote. "Either cut Kate out of it or put one with Meghan in it. I see their ploy," wrote another.

We couldn't collect the worst royal snubs without mentioning this ongoing slight. When Prince Edward married Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip indicated that upon their passing, Edward would inherit the Duke of Edinburgh title. This particular dukedom is one of the most sought-after within the royal family and was tied to Philip for decades. Such a promise to Edward and Sophie was made not only amid their wedding but also detailed on the royal website for years (via the Daily Mail). The reality, however, is far less simple.

King Charles has not, as of publication, given the sought-after title to his brother but is reportedly saving it for his granddaughter, Princess Charlotte, despite his parents' wishes. A royal insider told the Daily Mail that it is assumed Edward will be snubbed in the title process, with the king instead giving the title to Charlotte to mark the constitutional achievement she represents — being the first female in line to the throne not overtaken by her younger brother. "Discussions are under way, but the favoured outcome for the King is that this title ought to go to Princess Charlotte," the source said (via the Daily Mail). "It would be a fitting way to remember the Queen — who, of course, had the title Duchess of Edinburgh — and a way for His Majesty to honour the line of succession."