Harry and Meghan 'snubbed' by Jordan's royal family: King Abdullah and his eldest son - who have close relationship to Charles and William - swerve meeting with Sussexes

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have carried out humanitarian engagements in Amman, Jordan, but — according to a local source cited by the Daily Mail — did not meet King Abdullah II or Crown Prince Hussein during the visit. Harry and Meghan landed late on Tuesday and spent a two-day programme visiting charities and rehabilitation centres, yet "There is no meeting scheduled between the Duke and Duchess [of Sussex] and the Jordanian Royal Family," the source said.

"There is no meeting scheduled between the Duke and Duchess [of Sussex] and the Jordanian Royal Family,"

Context and details

The Sussexes’ itinerary included a reception at the British Ambassador’s residence involving World Health Organization officials and embassy staff — an event the Daily Mail reports was branded "entirely inappropriate" by critics — and a visit to the National Centre for Rehabilitation of Addicts in Amman. The only member of the Jordanian Royal Family the couple met briefly was Princess Basma Bint Talal, an aunt of King Abdullah, during a visit to a venture run by the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development. Photographs published during the visit show Meghan in a £109 jacket from Zara.

• Reception at the British Ambassador’s residence with WHO officials
• Visit to the National Centre for Rehabilitation of Addicts
• Brief meeting with Princess Basma Bint Talal at a Hashemite Fund venture

The apparent absence of a formal audience with the Jordanian monarch comes against a backdrop of long-standing ties between the Hashemite kingdom and the British royal family. The Daily Mail notes King Abdullah II has strong personal links with King Charles: King Abdullah and Queen Rania were special VVIP guests at the coronation, and Queen Rania has met Queen Camilla to discuss women’s issues. The report quotes King Charles recalling relations with King Hussein — Abdullah’s late father — saying: "I feel this friendship in the most personal of ways, as Jordan has always been part of my life. His Majesty King Hussein came to the throne in 1952, the same year as my dear mother, the Queen. They would be of great mutual support to each other through the decades ahead."

The Crown Prince, Hussein, is described as a friend of Prince William and is reported to have spent time with him in Britain and Jordan; the Prince and Princess of Wales attended Hussein's wedding in 2023. Despite those links, King Abdullah was photographed meeting the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus — who is leading the Duke and Duchess’s trip to Jordan — and hosting Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, with the Sussexes not present in the official images. The Daily Mail also notes Archewell Philanthropies, the Sussexes' foundation, partners with the WHO.

Outlook

The visit highlights a delicate diplomatic balance: historic personal ties between the British and Jordanian royal houses coexist with what local sources have framed as a deliberate decision by Jordan's monarchy to avoid a public meeting with the Sussexes. With official photographs showing King Abdullah alongside WHO chief Tedros and President Prabowo but not the Duke and Duchess, the episode may be read as a carefully managed expression of protocol and relationships. It remains unclear whether further private engagements between the Sussexes and Jordanian royals are planned following the two-day programme in Amman.