In Princess Diana's Shadow: Prince Harry Snubs King Charles to Seek Solace at Late Mother's Final Resting Place
Diana, Princess of Wales, who died 27 years ago, still holds a "magnetic power" over her youngest son, Prince Harry. During the Duke of Sussex's recent trip to Britain to attend Lord Robet Fellowes' memorial service on August 29, HRH decided to stay with his uncle, Charles, Earl Spencer, who runs Althorp House where the late princess is buried.
"Harry visited the grave when he was in Althorp," a friend of the Spencer family told an outlet. "It’s a very special place for all the family but especially Harry. It was a significant part of his motivation for staying there."
Harry's staying with his mother's side of the family comes after the California Duke allegedly turned down his father, King Charles III's offer to stay with him during Harry's trip to the U.K. in May. The rebel prince reportedly did not speak a single word, nor did he even so much as look at his elder brother, Prince William, at the remembrance service.
The one-time future queen's death anniversary passed on August 31, and reports reflect part of Harry's reason for staying at Althorp was so he could visit his mother's grave on that date. The princess is buried on a small island inside of a pond that is only accessible by a rowboat and is not open to the general public. A shrine of the iconic royal sits near the pond where the masses can pay their respects.
This follows reports suggesting the Prince of Wales may have tried to block his estranged sibling's attendance.
"I couldn’t say what the ins and outs were, but what I can tell you is that Prince William is a decent guy," they added. "He would understand that his brother wanted to be there and that [his invitation] would be a matter for the Spencer family."
They then recalled, "Don't forget it was his [William's] idea, despite everything that had happened, to ask Harry and Meghan to join himself and Catherine for that walkabout at Windsor after Queen Elizabeth died. He did that knowing what his brother had done and that he planned to bring out his book. But he will always do the right thing in the circumstances."
Lord Robert Fellowes was the principal private secretary for the late Queen Elizabeth II from 1990 to 1999, which is classified by many as the most turbulent era of the revered monarch's lengthy reign.
He married Lady Diana's sister, Lady Jane Spencer, in 1978, and due to his role as a loyal courtier to Elizabeth II, would go on to develop a "frosty' dynamic with his royal sister-in-law when the "War of the Waleses" between Diana and then-Prince Charles dominated the '90s.
GBN reported on the Spencer source.