Prince Harry Hugging Diana's Family Goes Viral After Charles Snub

Prince Harry embracing his mother Princess Diana's brother and sister during a cathedral service in support of his biggest project went viral after his father, King Charles III, did not make time to meet him.

The Duke of Sussex spent two days in London celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, his Olympics-style tournament for injured veterans. And there was much speculation in the British media beforehand that the visit might offer an opportunity to see his father, who is being treated for cancer.

However, Charles did not find time to meet his younger son over the two days, in part due to a garden party he was hosting at Buckingham Palace in London on Wednesday afternoon.

No royals attended the Service of Thanksgiving honoring Invictus at St. Paul's Cathedral, in London, which was the centerpiece of Harry's visit.

However, Princess Diana's brother Charles Spencer and sister Jane Fellowes both attended and were seen hugging Harry in the pews at St. Paul's.

The moment went viral on X, formerly Twitter, after it was posted by Glow Lee with the message: "The Spencer's showed up for Prince Harry. 🥹❤️

"Lovely to see him hug his mothers sisters. I'm guessing that unlike his institutional family (King Charles and Prince William) the Spencer's have hung out with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet Diana."

The post was viewed more than 273,000 times and liked over 8,300 times after it showed Prince Harry hugging uncle Spencer and aunt Fellowes.

During the service, Harry gave a reading from Corinthians: "Now there are varieties of gifts, with the same spirit and there are varieties of services, with the same lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same god who activates all of them in everyone.

"To each is given the manifestation of the spirit of the common good."

The duke was flying solo at the service after Meghan Markle stayed home in California with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

It was always expected that no senior royals would turn up for the Invictus event, but many commentators had hoped to see Harry and Charles meet.

Brand strategist and author Justine Castellon wrote on X: "By snubbing the Invictus event, Charles and William inadvertently did Harry a favor. In their absence, Harry shines brighter, becoming the focal point of the news.

"It's heartwarming to see Earl Spencer demonstrate to the world that #PrinceHarry is still surrounded by family."

At Diana's funeral in 1997, Spencer addressed the princess during his eulogy to promise to look after Harry and Prince William: "On behalf of your mother and sisters, I pledge that we, your blood family, will do all we can to continue the imaginative way in which you were steering these two exceptional young men so that their souls are not simply immersed by duty and tradition but can sing openly as you planned.

"We fully respect the heritage into which they have both been born and will always respect and encourage them in their royal role but we, like you, recognize the need for them to experience as many different aspects of life as possible to arm them spiritually and emotionally for the years ahead. I know you would have expected nothing less from us."

Spencer's words were interpreted at the time as a swipe at the monarchy.

Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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