Queen had cake for Lilibet’s 1st birthday — but Harry, Meghan stood her up: ex-staffer
Let her eat cake — alone.
A former employee of Queen Elizabeth II claimed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle snubbed the late monarch’s invitation to celebrate Princess Lilibet’s 1st birthday with her.
“Even on Lilibet’s 1st birthday, the Queen didn’t see her,” the Queen’s onetime footman Paul Burrell told the Mirror in an interview published Friday.
“She saw her the day before. But on her birthday, the Queen had a birthday cake made with one candle in it. And they never turned up. That candle was never lit.”
However, a source tells Page Six there is “no truth” to Burrell’s claims.
“They did see the Queen to celebrate Lili’s birthday,” the insider says.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined the royal family in celebrating the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, and some of the festivities happened to fall on Lilibet’s 1st birthday.
Harry, 38, and Markle, 42, reportedly celebrated their daughter’s big day with a relaxed garden party at Frogmore Cottage — the first home they shared as newlyweds — among royal family members including his cousins Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips and their respective children.
That same day, the Queen — who died on Sept. 8, 2022, at the age of 96 — was scheduled to attend the Epsom Derby in Surrey as part of the jubilee festivities but was forced to pull out due to her ongoing health issues.
According to Burrell, the sovereign had invited Harry and Markle to celebrate Lilibet’s birthday but was snubbed.
“The next day, she asked if maybe they’d like to come up for tea again and was told they’ve gone,” the ex-Buckingham Palace staffer claimed. “‘What do you mean they’ve gone?’ she said. ‘They’ve gone back to America.’ ‘Oh no, they never said goodbye.’”
Burrell further claimed the Queen was “confused” that Harry and Markle, who also share 4-year-old son Prince Archie, decided to leave London so quickly.
“How could you offend our Queen? Well, I don’t understand anyone that could do that. Not her family, why would you want to?” he said. “She was devoid of jealousy, anger, envy, all those traits that we associate with other people she didn’t have. She was just a very simple soul. I wish the world could have known her the way I knew her.”
Still, the Queen publicly shared her birthday wishes for her great-granddaughter via social media.
“🎈Wishing Lilibet a very Happy 1st Birthday!” the longest-reigning British monarch tweeted.
Harry’s estranged brother, Prince William, also celebrated Lilibet’s milestone birthday. He and his wife, Kate Middleton, tweeted, “Wishing a very happy birthday to Lilibet, turning one today! 🎈.”
However, the Prince and Princess of Wales were not as keen on celebrating the Sussexes’ daughter’s 2nd birthday this year amid rising tensions between the brothers.
William and Harry have been feuding ever since the redheaded royal released his bombshell memoir, “Spare,” in January in which he claimed William, 41, once physically attacked him.
Harry and Markle have also repeatedly dragged the royal family in countless interviews after resigning from their royal duties in 2020 and moving to Montecito, Calif.
However, Harry has only ever had kind words to say about the late Queen and honored her memory ahead of the first anniversary of her death while speaking at the WellChild Awards on Thursday.
“As you know, I was unable to attend the awards last year as my grandmother passed away,” he told the crowd at the London-based benefit. “As you also probably know, she would have been the first person to insist that I still come to be with you all instead of going to her.
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“And that’s precisely why I know, exactly one year on, that she is looking down on all of us tonight, happy we’re together, continuing to spotlight such an incredible community.”
Harry also visited Windsor Castle Friday to mourn the anniversary, notably without Markle.
The “Suits” alum is expected to reunite with her husband at his 2023 Invictus Games in Germany this weekend.
A rep for the Sussexes did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment on Burrell’s claims.
