Prince Harry and his bride-to-be, Meghan Markle, won’t have President Donald Trump at their royal wedding on Saturday.
The president of the United States and first lady Melania Trump were left off the marriage guest list.
While the Trump family didn’t make the royal cut, neither did former President Barack Obama or other political leaders.
“It has been decided that an official list of political leaders — both U.K. and international — is not required for Prince Harry and Ms. Markle’s wedding,” a spokesman for Kensington Palace told ITK in April.
The royal family cited “diplomatic reasons” as to why political leaders were omitted from the wedding invite.
“If the Obamas turned up and Donald Trump was snubbed, then that would cause problems for the British government in terms of foreign diplomacy and the special relationship [between the U.S. and the U.K.],” royal biographer Duncan Larcombe told TownandCountrymag.com. “Harry and Meghan wouldn’t want their wedding overshadowed by that.”
The royal family has requested that those unable to attend their celebration instead give to charitable social causes, in lieu of formal wedding gifts.
So the Trumps plan to do something far better than give the royal couple a “bowl,” as has been the custom with previous presidential gifts to British royalty.
Instead, the president and the first lady will donate the money they would have spent on the royal couple to charity.
Related: 10 Reasons You’ll Watch the Royal Wedding
The Trump family “will be making a contribution to one of the seven charities the royal couple has designated in lieu of gifts,” White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters told the Daily Mail on Wednesday.
The U.S. media would love to cause a fuss over the Trumps’ being left off the royal wedding guest list — but it appears the president has trumped them all with his class act.
The gift will be to one of seven causes hand-selected by the royal family, which include charities that serve the Armed Forces and homeless, along with foundations on the environment and women’s empowerment.
While the U.S. media would love to cause a fuss about the Trumps’ being left off the royal wedding guest list — it appears the president has trumped them all with his class act.
Kyle Becker is a content writer and producer with LifeZette. Follow him on Twitter.
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