The Bidens reportedly said no because they did not want to offend the Palace (Pictures: Getty/AP)
Harry and Meghan asked to fly back to the US after the Queen’s funeral on Air Force One with Joe and Jill Biden, is has been claimed.
The alleged request was seen as a ‘non-starter’ and very quickly denied because it might have offended the Royal Family, it is believed.
A source told the Daily Mail: ‘It would have caused such a commotion and strained relations with the Palace and the new King.’
The Sussexes were already in the UK for charity engagements when Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8 last year.
They stayed in the country until her funeral on September 19 and then flew home three days later.
First Lady Dr Jill Biden was reportedly invited to attend Harry’s Invictus Games last April, which was held in the Netherlands.
Both Bidens went to the 2017 games with Barack Obama in Canada and Dr Biden went to the 2016 games in Florida.
Harry and Meghan leaving Westminster Hall, where the Queen laid in state until her funeral (Picture: Getty)
Joe and Jill Biden wave before boarding Air Force One at London Stansted Airport, after the Queen’s funeral (Picture: AP)
The couple’s son Joseph ‘Beau’ Biden III, who died at the age of 46 after a brain cancer diagnosis in 2016, served in the Iraq war.
So they share a passion with Harry, who served in Afghanistan, for the Armed Forces.
Dr Biden ‘wanted to go’ to the 2022 games, a source familiar with the event reportedly said, but British officials apparently told National Security Council staff it would not look good.
Instead, secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten led the US delegation.
In September 2021, Harry and Dr Biden co-hosted a Zoom event with wounded warrior athletes after the Warrior Games were cancelled because of the pandemic.
At the time, Harry told the First Lady: ‘Thank you for your service and your continued support over all these years.
Barack Obama with Joe and Jill Biden at the 2017 Invictus Games in Canada (Picture: Reuters)
Prince Harry and Joe Biden at the 2016 games in Florida (Picture: Getty)
‘It’s been fantastic to see you in action in various parts of the world giving everything that you’ve got to so many people to not just those who wear the uniform but to the families as well. A lot of them wouldn’t be here without you so, thank you.’
Dr Biden responded: ‘You live by a simple principle: Serve together, recover together.
‘It’s a philosophy not limited by the flag you wear. Your brothers and sisters-in-arms are connected by something so much deeper than the borders that separate us.
‘You’ve dedicated your time, talents, and heart to lifting up service members from around the globe.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted the Sussexes and the White House for comment.
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The alleged request was seen as a ‘non-starter’ and denied by the US because it would have ’caused such a commotion’, a source said.
