Princess Anne did not attend the christening of Prince Harry in 1984, and although an official reason was given as an excuse many speculate there was a more dramatic cause of her absence.
The Princess Royal had asked her elder brother, then-Prince Charles, to be the godfather of her son Peter Phillips when he was born in 1977, a position that he graciously accepted.
However the favour was not returned when Princess Diana gave birth to Prince William as Charles did not ask her to be godmother, nor did he ask two years later when Harry was born.
Royal Robert Lacey wrote in his bestseller Battle of Brothers: “The Prince did not return the compliment when it came to William – or, rather, according to rumour, he had very much wanted to invite his sister, only to be blocked by his wife.”
The frostiness between Diana and Anne led Harry’s aunt to make her feelings known about being snubbed as godmother by not attending her nephew’s christening.