Is the absence of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Obama’s 60th birthday a sign of the end of their love?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s “remarkable” absence from Barack Obama’s 60th birthday party could be a sign that their “special relationship” is over, a royal expert said.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not witness the former US President’s lavish coup at Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday, but it was not clear whether they couldn’t or had been snubbed.

Although Obama insisted the event was downsized from a guest list of 500 due to the spread of India’s Delta variant of Covid, a staff member told DailyMail.com that 300 to 400 people were present. It included John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Meghan’s friend, CBS This Morning host Gayle King, George Clooney and Jay-Z and Beyoncé.

Page Six, who broke the news of Harry’s multi-million pound book deal, reported that Harry and Meghan ‘had no plans to attend’ and suggested the Duke could take his wife for her own birthday celebrations, when she was 40 on August 4.

Royal expert Camilla Tominey has suggested that you ordinarily would expect Harry, 36, and Meghan to be ‘at the forefront’ of the Obama guest list, but some in Democratic circles have suggested. the Sussexes’ attempts to “ape everything the Obamas.” have done ‘since leaving the royal family may have’ endangered their once special relationship ‘.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, she said: “Although the Obamas did not attend the Sussex wedding that year, it was believed that the newly California-based couple would be shoo-ins at Obama’s 60th, as as prominent “progressives” and newborn members of the American metropolitan liberal elite.

She claimed that a source revealed that the Obamas “didn’t like Harry attacking his family” during her explosive interview with Meghan’s with Oprah Winfrey in March.

“They value family and are definitely not the kind of people who would want their kids to talk to the press,” the insider added.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama, 57, also shed light on her and her husband’s feelings about the public outpouring – in which they accused the monarchy of not supporting them and suggested that the Prince Charles and Prince William were “trapped” in the system – in an interview with Access Hollywood.

“My hope is that when I think about what they’re going through, I think about the importance of family and just pray that there is forgiveness and that there is clarity, clarity. love and purpose at some point because there is nothing more important than family, ”she said.

The Obamas have a long-standing relationship with Harry, bonding with him during his Invictus Games – which they starred in a video with the Prince and Queen to help promote in 2016.

The following year Harry interviewed Barack in Toronto for his guest edit of BBC Radio 4’s Today show, in which they discussed the risks of social media and the corrosion of civil discourse.

Meghan was also keen to attend Michelle’s talk at the London Southbank Center in December 2018, the pair then reportedly gathered backstage for a ‘power meeting’ to discuss their shared passion for educating girls.

The Sussexes have followed a similar trajectory to the Obamas since leaving royal life, after signing a multi-million dollar deal with Netflix to produce their own documentary series.

Harry also signed a lucrative four-book deal with Penguin Random House – the same publishers Obama used for his memoir A Promised Land in November of last year. In 2018, Michelle published her life story, Becoming.

Although Meghan and Harry are currently on parental leave after welcoming their daughter Lilibet in June, the Duchess used her 40th birthday to launch her new 40×40 initiative, designed to encourage women to return to work after the pandemic.

But while a host of celebrities – including Hillary Clinton – have been asked to support the project, which asks people to donate 40 minutes of their time to mentoring, the Obamas have apparently not been invited to participate.

The scheme has been criticized by some as being “awake” and selfish, with honest Australian Today hosts Karl Stefanovic and Sophie Walsh suggesting it smacks of hypocrisy.

Sophie joked: “I love that she teaches people about getting back to work and quit her royal job after less than two years,” before remarking that “juggling Harry” has “lost it. ‘plot “.

Tominey suggested that the Obamas may be concerned that an association with the Sussexes could attract negative publicity.

She added that Harry and Meghan denigrating members of the royal family during their interview with Oprah “may not have gone particularly well with a couple who have always put ‘family first'”.

She also highlighted the Obamas’ close relationship with the Queen, 95, and the late Prince Philip, as well as Prince William and Kate Middleton, both 39, who were central to their state visit. in 2011.

When the Obamas returned to the UK in 2016, they insisted on visiting Kensington Palace where they met Prince George, then three, who was in a dressing gown ready for bed, before having dinner with the Cambridges and Harrys.

Obama publicly supported Prince William’s Earthshot Prize in October, writing on Twitter: “It’s going to take a lot of thought and innovation to save the planet we have – and that’s why @KensingtonRoyal’s leadership on the climate change can make a real difference.

When the Duke of Edinburgh passed away in April at the age of 99, Obama posted a glowing tribute on Twitter, writing: “Through his extraordinary example, His Royal Highness Prince Philip has proven that a true partnership has room for both ambition and altruism – all in the service of something bigger.

His wife also tweeted: “Our hearts go out to Her Majesty The Queen, the Royal Family and the British people.”

Speaking about the Queen on her 2019 book tour, Michelle described her as “wonderfully warm, funny, elegant and kind and caring in a really interesting way.”

Following Oprah’s interview and news of Harry’s book, some royal commentators criticized the Sussexes for spreading even more royal filth.

The firm is concerned that the release of one of the books will come after the Queen’s death – although Harry’s lawyers have said the claim that he was waiting for his grandmother to die before releasing one of them is ‘false and defamatory’.