Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in a 'Difficult Position' Amid King Charles' Family Invite: Expert

King Charles will request the presence of his son Prince Harry and daughter-in-law Meghan Markle at the family's annual summer getaway. However, a royal expert claimed the couple is in a dilemma because returning to the United Kingdom would mean "swallowing their pride." After officially separating from The Firm, they settled in Montecito, California.

Balmoral is a large part of Harry's childhood because it is the royal family's tradition to spend summer holidays in the Scottish Highlands. Moreover, for the Duke of Sussex, the place holds more emotional memory because Harry was at the estate when he received the news of his mother, the late Princess Diana's car crash in Paris during the early hours of August 1997. 

Meanwhile, the Duchess visited Balmoral only once while still a working royal in 2018, accompanied by Her Highness late Queen Elizabeth. It is customary for the Monarch to invite the royal family members from wherever they are to the Scottish retreat and stay together for the summer break. 

Tom Quinn, a royal expert, and author, told The Mirror if Charles would send an invite for the family break to Harry and Markle (which is likely he would), it wouldn't be easy for the Sussexes. "If the invitation becomes a real invitation – and it is almost certainly to do that - both Harry and Meghan will find themselves in a very difficult position," said Quinn. 

Markle's still holding a grudge for sister-in-law Kate Middleton, Prince William and Charles. The pain from the family feuds is still lingering in her heart which would make it more burdensome for her to accept the invitation and behave normally. However, Quinn noted that for the Sussexes, their public image matters.

"They are obsessed with their public image and will be aware that it will look really good if they swallow their pride and come back to the UK. But Meghan still wants that apology from William and King Charles and Kate so it's going to be difficult for her to swallow her pride, but on the other hand, she won't want to appear to be holding a grudge because that will lead to criticism and she really hates criticism." 

Moreover, Quinn added, "On the other hand, she knows she always has the children's needs to fall back on when she makes her apologies and says she can't come to Balmoral."

Since Markle married Harry, she struggled to find her voice and space in the royal family. Subsequently, the couple fled the royal clan in 2020 and her fallout with the family members led to a decrease in her popularity among the people of Britain. She also labeled her in-laws "racists," indirectly hinting she and her kids were treated "differently" due to their skin color. 

"I mean, if there's any time in my life that it's been more focused on my race, it's only once I started dating my husband. Then I started to understand what it was like to be treated like a Black woman," said the former Suits star, per OK! Magazine. "Because up until then, I had been treated like a mixed woman. And things really shifted."