Friends of Prince Harry are still reeling after last week's shock announcement that the redheaded prince and his wife, Meghan Markle, have decided to step back from full-time royal duties. That said, it is little surprise that friends were taken off guard, as many of Harry's best friends have not spoken to the Duke of Sussex in nearly a year. According to several sources, Prince Harry began to end his contact with old pals when Meghan was pregnant with Archie. It has been particularly distressing for those frozen out as they felt unable to help the prince after his admission of fragile mental health.
According to People magazine, Prince Harry ended contact when Meghan was around six months' into her pregnancy. "Most no longer even have his cell number," said the source.
"They totally understand that men often drift from their friends after marriage, but there's still a lot of resentment because they had been so close for so long." Meanwhile, Meghan still is close with many of her pre-marriage friends, including stylist Jessica Mulroney and tennis ace Serena Williams.
Prince Harry did not invite his close friend to his wedding party
Perhaps a signal of things to come was when Prince Harry did not invite his close friend, Tom "Skippy" Inskip to his wedding party. Though Inskip was invited to the church portion of the wedding, he was excluded from the later celebratory event, shocking many in British society.
An article in Tatler first described how Inskip had been cut out of Harry's life.
"Hang out with the Clooney/Beckham/Soho House set and be assailed for being too Hollywood, for forcing your hen-pecked husband to abandon his old, country-set muckers – including Tom "Skippy" Inskip, the ultra-loyal, tight-lipped Harry pal, who, it's said, advised Harry not to marry Meghan and has paid the price: banishment."
Inskip had been reported to be one of Harry's closest friends, and was with Haarry in Vegas during the infamous strip poker incident. Another friend who was frozen out of Harry's life early in his courtship with Meghan is PR guru Astrid Harbord.
Prince Harry isn't just dealing with bad relationships with his friends, but also with his family
As previously covered by The International Business Times, the relationship between Prince Harry and his brother is reportedly at an all time low. The Duke of Cambridge recently lamented that he was no longer able to "put his arm around" his brother and talk out their differences as they used to.
In addition, the Queen is allegedly upset and disappointed in her grandson's latest actions.
