And a palace source told NBC News on Tuesday: “They are not commenting on individual guests being invited or not, but president and Mrs. Obama will not be attending the wedding. But the couples look forward to seeing each other soon.”
Several outlets, including The Telegraph, reported that May isn’t on the list either.
Some 260 government officials from around the world attended Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton, in 2011, but it seems the May 19 ceremony uniting his brother Prince Harry and Markle is going to be a much smaller affair.
President Obama did not attend Prince William’s wedding, but leaders from commonwealth countries including Australia and New Zealand were on the guest list.
Here are the stories of some of the people who will be joining the celebrations in the grounds of Windsor Castle on May 19th:
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 10, 2018
There had been speculation about whether President Obama would be invited since he is close to Prince Harry. The groom-to-be interviewed President Obama on the BBC’s Radio 4 “Today” program last year and was asked by a BBC reporter whether the former leader would be on the guest list.
The prince responded: “Well, I don’t know about that. We haven’t put the invites or the guest list together yet so who knows whether he’s going to be invited or not. I wouldn’t want to ruin that surprise.”
But an invitation to President Obama would have created a political problem for the British government if the couple had snubbed President Trump — who has yet to make an official visit to the United Kingdom.
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