While senior royals gathered in the Cotswolds for Peter Phillips’ wedding on June 6, 2026, Prince Harry watched from California — a moment insiders say was deeply painful for the Duke of Sussex.
“Harry Has Never Felt More Homesick”
A source told New Idea that Harry “put on a brave face at home over the weekend but seeing his closest family all together, happy and getting on with their lives without him is still very painful”.
“Harry has never felt more homesick than he did seeing all of Peter’s wedding photos,” the insider added. “Everyone looked so happy on the big day and it particularly stings because Harry was once so close to his cousin”.
Why Harry and Meghan Weren’t Invited
Peter Phillips, 48, married NHS nurse Harriet Sperling, 45, in a “small and intimate” ceremony at All Saints Church, Kemble. King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Princess Kate, Princess Anne, Zara and Mike Tindall, and other senior royals attended.
Harry and Meghan Markle were not on the guest list. Royal expert Emily Nash told Page Six that Peter and Harry “haven’t spoken for several years” and there had been a “natural cooling off”. Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond said invitations weren’t extended “to not draw attention from the actual event”. Bond added: “If Harry, with or without Meghan, came to Peter and Harriet’s wedding… that’s undoubtedly what would happen”.
Phillips is described as “very loyal” and “protective” of Prince William. Experts said having both brothers there “would have put a completely different slant on the whole event”.
The Most “Heart-Wrenching Part”: Archie and Lilibet
For Harry, the exclusion hits harder because of his children. “The most heart-wrenching part is not just that Harry didn’t make the guest list, but that his children had to miss out on another important family occasion too,” the source said. “If Harry was still in the UK – and not estranged from his royal relatives – there’s every chance that his kids could have been included in the wedding party as a page boy or flower girl. But that wasn’t to be”.
Lilibet is now five, and “Harry desperately wants his children to have some connection to his home country”. However, “Meghan is still unwilling to make the trip” after her last UK visit was met with public ‘boos’. “For now, Harry will just watch happy family gatherings from afar”.
Family Rifts and “Lost Touch”
Peter and Harry “simply lost touch” in recent years, a friend told Hello!. The strain reportedly worsened after Harry’s memoir Spare and the Netflix docuseries, which Phillips viewed as making private issues public.
At Prince Philip’s funeral in 2021, Peter was “positioned between the two warring brothers” as peacemaker. “A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then,” Nash noted.
Insiders claim Harry feels “deeply hurt and humiliated” by the snub and “genuinely didn’t believe it would come to this”. “Growing up, he adored Peter. He always saw him as one of the more grounded, trustworthy members of the family”.
Royal Family Moves Forward
The wedding was described as a “happy distraction” amid royal turmoil. King Charles and Camilla left the ceremony to attend Derby Day at Epsom.
For Harry, sources say the event only increases pressure on Meghan to reconsider a UK return — but for now, the distance remains.