Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have wrapped up a two-day visit to Jordan that was intended to showcase their humanitarian work, but instead has been overshadowed by what insiders are calling a "glaring royal snub."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex landed in Amman late Tuesday night (February 24) for what critics described as a “pseudo-royal” tour of the Middle East.
Highlights
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were not granted a meeting with Jordan’s King or Crown Prince during their two-day visit.
- King Abdullah II met with the head of the WHO and other dignitaries while the Sussexes toured charity sites.
- The visit took place a week after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, King Charles’ brother, was arrested.
Within hours, they began a string of carefully staged engagements with charity organizations, as well as a roundtable at the British Ambassador’s residence alongside officials from the World Health Organization.
Yet despite the packed schedule and the couple’s partnership with the WHO through Archewell Philanthropies, one meeting never materialized.
Insiders believe Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were snubbed by Jordan’s Royal Family during their recent visit
Image credits: Aaron Chown - PA Images
“There is no meeting scheduled between the Duke and Duchess [of Sussex] and the Jordanian Royal Family,” a local source said.
The absence was seen as particularly striking given the depth of ties between Jordan’s royal household and the British monarchy.
Image credits: Aaron Chown - PA Images
King Abdullah II shares a close personal relationship with King Charles III and the two were pictured warmly greeting each other during an official visit to London last year.
At the same time, King Abdullah and Queen Rania were honored guests at Charles’s coronation, and Queen Rania has held several meetings with Queen Camilla focused on women’s issues.
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Their son, Crown Prince Hussein, is known to be close to Prince William, sharing leisure time together away from official activities.
For instance, the two famously watched England defeat Panama during the 2018 World Cup in the Crown Prince’s “man cave” at Beit Al Urdun Palace.
William and Catherine, Princess of Wales attended Hussein’s wedding in 2023, and in October last year William and the Crown Prince carried out a visit to RAF Benson, the Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire, England.
Image credits: Handout
Against that backdrop, the Sussexes’ treatment has raised eyebrows.
“The fact the Duke and Duchess of Sussex haven’t met King Abdullah and been given the traditional royal welcome is glaringly obvious,” a Jordan-based source told the Daily Mail.
“There has been no red carpet treatment, even though King Abdullah has met officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) who have been behind this visit by the Duke and Duchess.”
King Abdullah met the head of the WHO, who are charity partners with the Sussexes’ Archewell charity
Image credits: RoyalDickie
While Harry and Meghan toured rehabilitation centers and posed for photographs in muted tones, the Jordanian monarch was meeting others.
King Abdullah held talks in Amman with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO and a central figure in the Sussexes’ trip. Official images showed the King seated with Tedros and a sizable delegation. Harry and Meghan were nowhere in sight.
Image credits: Aaron Chown - PA Images
The optics were difficult to ignore, particularly because the Sussexes’ Archewell charity partners with the WHO.
“Is it a snub?” one royal insider asked. “Harry and Meghan have met heads of state or other dignitaries on previous trips, so you might expect it on this one.”
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The only Jordanian royal the couple met was Princess Basma Bint Talal, an aunt of the current King, during a visit to a venture run by the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development.
The encounter was brief and carried none of the ceremonial weight typically associated with visiting royalty.
A third insider described the trip as “a pseudo royal visit, mimicking many of the things William and Kate would have done,” and criticizing the visit as “lacking in the ceremonial side of things.”
The role of the British ambassador was criticized because Meghan and Harry are no longer working royals
The couple were hosted at the private residence of Phillip Hall, where the ambassador publicly thanked them for coming to Jordan during a roundtable also involving the UN and WHO.
Former Conservative minister Tim Loughton called the move “entirely inappropriate.”
“They are not working royals and do not represent the British Government or UK PLC,” Loughton said.
“Given their capacity to say unhelpful things which border on political, giving them an official platform could be construed as them saying something that represents official UK policy.”
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He added that while it would be “legitimate for the embassy to assist on security issues and neutral briefing,” it should not involve “anything that platforms them on what should clearly be seen as a private visit by private individuals.”
One royal insider described the ambassador’s involvement as “intriguing.”
Image credits: Aaron Chown - PA Images
“Once again, British diplomats are involved. Quite why they have been there to welcome two private individuals is unclear to me,” the source said.
“Perhaps there’s frustration at the Foreign Office at the lack of overseas visits by some members of the family and they see this as a chance to get the UK viewpoint over and showcase what Britain is doing in the region.”
Meanwhile, back in Britain, the Royal Family are quietly managing the fallout from last week’s arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, a development that has done considerable damage to the family’s reputation.
"Publicity stunt." Critics argued the Sussexes' visit had less to do with their country and more to do with their own brand
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