Prince Harry set to skip uncle's funeral amid 'Royal Family drama'

He also served as the late Queen’s private secretary for nine of the most tumultuous years of her reign, from 1990 to 1999, which saw the divorces of three of her children and the death of the late Princess of Wales.

Whilst Lord Fellowes helped Elizabeth pen a speech which described Diana posthumously as an “exceptional and gifted human being”, the late Princess of Wales was not a fan of the 82-year-old, who she described as a faceless “man in grey”.

Despite this, he shared a close relationship with his nephews, the Princes William and Harry and attended both of their weddings.

However, a former friend of Harry’s has said that the Duke may not show his face at the funeral.

Speaking to The Daily Beast, the ex-pal who lost touch with Harry when he left for the US said: “The death will be a huge blow to the Spencer family. In normal times it would be unimaginable that Harry would not be there to support Jane. Of course he would want to be there.

“It will be a huge gathering of the Spencer clan. But these are not normal times and it may well be that everyone feels Harry’s attendance would just create too much drama. It will be very sad for him if he can’t make it.”

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The relationship between Harry and his family has been strained ever since he moved to the US with his wife Meghan Markle in January 2020.

Since his move to Montecito, things have turned frosty between Harry and the firm, thanks in part to a series of bombshell claims that Harry made in his memoir Spare, which was released in January 2023.

Harry wrote that his brother was critical of his wife, whom he relocated to the United States in 2020, and that William allegedly called her “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”.

The Duke of Sussex also discussed various points of contention between his wife and Kate. One specific disagreement revolved around Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress, which left Meghan reportedly “sobbing on the floor”.

The King made the decision to evict Harry from Frogmore Cottage after his memoir was released.

Aside from Harry’s scathing memoir, the couple’s Netflix series released in 2022, and their landmark interview with Oprah in 2021, had previously added fuel to the fire.

William and Harry have barely spoken over the last 18 months and last saw each other at the Coronation in May 2023.

Meanwhile, Harry and his father last saw each other in February when Charles was diagnosed with cancer and the duke jetted over from California to see him, but he was given just over 30 minutes with the King.

Lord Fellowes left his position as private secretary in February 1999 to return to private banking, his retirement having been announced in 1998 when his successor Robin Janvrin was named.

He was created a life peer on July 12, 1999, taking the title Baron Fellowes of Shotesham in the County of Norfolk in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

He sat as a crossbench peer until his retirement in 2022.