Prince gets ‘one of the roughest stretches’ with Tom Parker’s Ascot appearance

While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seem to be receiving their financial blows since last week, they also received a subtle snub by the royals.

On Tuesday, June 20th, 2023, King Charles and Queen Camilla attended the first day of the Royal Ascot, accompanied by the monarch’s step-son, Tom Parker Bowles and his missus.

In her comment piece for news.com.au, royal expert Daniela Elser dubbed the appearance as “one of the roughest stretches” for Prince Harry as his “hellish week after years of hellish weeks just got that much more brimstone-y.”

The Sussexes were noticeably missing from the event, despite Harry being the blood descendant of the Crown. Meanwhile, the stepson of Charles, son of his now-wife and Queen, Camilla Parker-Bowles, Tom seems to have gotten a good bargain.

“What I always find delightful is the fact that Tom and his sister Laura Lopes might be children of a bona fide, actual-crown-to-her-name Queen, but by and large, they fly entirely under the radar,” Elser described. “They are not stalked by the press, they have day jobs and are entirely responsible for remembering bin night.”

Elser also pointed out the Tom’ appearance “would have to be one of the roughest stretches for Harry, with so many things going wrong on so many fronts for him.”

Harry has six lawsuits running in London High Court against British tabloids for invading his privacy through phone hacking. Meanwhile, he lost his case security appeal against the Home Office to pay for his security in the UK.

As for the financial front, their Spotify deal was axed and Netflix is reportedly “unlikely to renew” its contract with the Sussexes.

And as Elser described, “The cherry on this miserable sundae: estranged from his dad, now here is his stepbrother playing happy Royal Families.”