Prince Harry has been criticized for not attending Prince Philip’s memorial service.
According to guest Richard Griffin, Prince Harry’s absence from his grandfather Prince Philip’s memorial was a “disappointment” that was discussed by other attendees.
Griffin who worked for 14 years as a royal protection officer for Prince Philip, said Prince Harry not being there was a “big disappointment to everybody”.
Griffin said: “Prince Philip was their grandfather so William has obviously had a great training from him and is going to learn examples from him. I just hope Harry gets some of these things in his mind. Harry’s absence was a big disappointment for everybody. People were talking about it. All this nonsense about how he couldn’t get protection, as far as I’m concerned that was a pathetic excuse.”
“He should’ve been here to honor his grandfather. At the end of the day, if he was that worried about security, he could’ve stuck with his brother and father who have got wonderful security and he would have been more than safe. He does, however, hope to visit the Queen as soon as possible,” he added.
Arthur Edwards, a legendary royal photographer who has been photographing the Royal Family for The Sun since 1977 said how Prince Harry had “lost out.”
Edwards said: “Royals young and old came from far and wide to Westminster Abbey yesterday to pay tribute to Prince Philip except one. Prince Harry’s excuse for avoiding the memorial service for his own grandfather because of “security fears” is, quite frankly, lame.”
Edwards continued: “Harry couldn’t be bothered to take a few days off from Netflix, or feeding his chickens in the US, to honor the grandfather who always supported him.
Whether walking with the 12-year-old Prince behind his mother’s coffin or giving support while Harry was on active service in Afghanistan, Philip was always there for him.”
“Sadly, he chose to stay away in his big house. You lost out, Harry, on a great occasion when the Who’s Who of Europe and beyond turned up to do honor to the man who for many years loyally served the Queen. As far as I’m concerned, after yesterday’s no-show Harry has burnt his boats,” he added.
But despite the family tensions, the Duke of Sussex was included in today’s commemorations, after archive footage of Prince Harry speaking about his late grandfather was used as part of the BBC’s coverage of the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial.
The broadcaster re-used sentimental tributes from the Royal Family to celebrate the life of Prince Philip, before streaming his Service of Thanksgiving live from Westminster Abbey. Dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, while sitting against a grey background, Prince Harry shared his respect for Prince Philip.
The Duke of Sussex who was the only senior member of the royal family not to attend the service, made a surprise appearance during the coverage in a resurfaced clip from the documentary “A “Unique Portrait” of Prince Philip and his life”. Prince Harry was seen praising his grandfather in the footage, which first aired in September 2021.
Prince Harry shared: “What you see is what you got. He was unapologetically him at all times, no matter where he was, no matter who he was speaking to, and no matter what he was doing.”
Royal watchers and social media users have also criticized the duke, who is due to travel to the Netherlands in two weeks’ time, for not attending his grandfather’s Service of Thanksgiving.