Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been savaged after reports emerged that someone close to the Sussexes said they would accept an invitation to spend Christmas with the Royal Family.
The Duke and Duchess would reportedly accept such an invitation but the way they let the world know has been slammed by a royal expert.
Daily Mail Diary editor Richard Eden called the situation “pathetic” after a source close to Meghan and Harry said that the couple would be delighted to spend Christmas with the Royal Family.
Mr Eden said: “This is pathetic, isn’t it? This reminds me a little bit of a school disco where if you weren’t brave enough to ask a girl to dance you’d sort of say ‘Oh my mate fancies you’.”
The royal expert pointed to the fact that the news didn’t come directly from Harry and Meghan but rather a source said to be close to the Sussexes.
He added: “You know, we’re not hearing directly from Harry and Meghan. We’re hearing from friends. So the story in The Sunday Times was that their friends are putting out that they really would quite like to be welcome or be invited to Sandringham at Christmas.
“I mean come on. This is no way to operate, is it? Perhaps they could invite the King to California or something but we’re getting this regular briefing now of what they saying, what their friends are saying – it seems to be more and more.
Speaking on Palace Confidential, Mr Eden added: “The normal thing to do would be [to say] ‘It’d be lovely to see you this Christmas – you’re place or ours?’ kind of thing. Letting it be known through friends it just really does seem pathetic.”
Speaking of a Christmas visit, one source close to the Sussexes told The Sunday Times: “I can’t imagine [they] would decline an invitation to spend time with His Majesty.”
Speculation swirled over whether such an invitation could be offered to Meghan and Harry after it was reported that the couple spoke to King Charles on his 75th birthday in what some have seen as a potential olive branch that could lead to reconciliation.
But previously, Mr Eden had questioned how the intimate details of the had been leaked to the media so quickly, pointing a finger at the Sussexes.
He wrote for the Daily Mail: “How did the BBC know ahead of time that Prince Harry would ring his father? And how, afterward, did the Daily Telegraph discover the contents of a conversation to which few others can have been privy?”
Eden added: “The fact that details of a private conversation were published so quickly might serve as a warning ahead of any possible future invitations.”
