Q: Is it true the Obamas will not be invited to Prince William’s wedding for fear Michelle will upstage Kate Middleton?
A: No. The official guest list has not been released. A British newspaper quoted an unnamed source as saying the Obamas are not on the list, but that "could change."
FULL QUESTION
Is it true that the Royal family "snubbed the Obamas" because they were afraid that Michelle upstage Kate, etc.? See TRUE MAGAZINE article, "Royal Snub for the Obamas":
Royal snub for the Obama’s
Prince William and Kate Middleton wedding: President Barack Obama and Michelle are not invited! Michelle is livid over the snub and Obama can’t believe it…
What is happening and what can I do about it seems to be the thoughts in Obama’s head. Meanwhile, William and Kate have it together.
Prince William and Kate Middleton are planning a royal wedding April, 2011. Prince William personally told the wedding planners to strike the Obama’s from the guest list. He stated, “He did not want Michelle Obama trying to pull her center of attention ploy trying to upstage Kate on Kate’s wedding day”. Sources reveal that William states, “She may run Obama, but she doesn’t run him or England”.
Democrats and Obama would like to play the race card as they have done so many times in America, but it is difficult when other black heads of states are invited to the wedding and will be warmly received.
Now, what is the future King of England’s reasons for snubbing the Obama’s to the world and making them a laughing stock? It has nothing to do with America beyond being so stupid as to elect such low class imperfection to the office of President and First Lady. The decisions that they make can and will affect the World.
Secondly, Michelle called his mother Diana an over sexed cloths horse and further stated that she, Michelle, was more popular than Diana ever was.
Thirdly, Michelle Obama showed her butt at every major social function endeavoring to be the Queen in the lime light. In other words, just a lack of class.
Fourthly, the Queen Mother, William’s grandmother also has her reasons. Obama refused to bow to her, but a few days later bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia. Michelle manhandled her by becoming too familiar by putting her arm around her. The Queen only shakes hands with gloves on…That are the Traditions and it is still honored by the Royals.
The Queen said to her staff, “Never allow that woman to be in the same room with me again” and she meant every word of it. The gifts from Obama and Michelle were both tacky and in poor taste…It is all a matter of class.
In addition the Queen Mother supported Prince William in his decision, due to the fact, the word is out about the lavish booze parties at the White House, the expensive vacations and state visits that cost the American tax payers billions of dollars un-necessarily when the American people need the resources…We here at True American can’t decide if it is just low class, no class, big a_s or all that has just been mentioned.
The Obama’s are desperately trying to make it a slight against America. Every past Head of State has always been invited…
This is not a state function and William is not yet a Sovereign. It is just a multi-million dollar private wedding and the Obama’s have been royally snubbed by the British Royals; not America, just the present classless leaders… The True American!
FULL ANSWER
Let’s dispense of this first: there is no evidence that the royal family fears that Michelle Obama will "upstage" Prince William’s bride-to-be, Kate Middleton.
As for the coveted invitations, the royal couple has not released their guest list and official details have been sparse. Prince Charles, William’s father, announced the engagement on Nov. 16 and the date of the wedding on Nov. 23. His website released an updated statement on Jan. 5 with additional details about the couple’s wedding plans. But none of the statements provided information on guests. The wedding ceremony will be held on April 29 at Westminster Abbey at 11 a.m., with an evening reception at Buckingham Palace.
Update, Feb. 22: Prince Charles on Feb. 19 released a statement listing "groups of people" who were invited to the royal wedding. No names were released, only categories of people, such as "Members of Foreign Royal Families." It appeared that President Obama and the first lady were not invited, based on the categories. We called the prince’s press office to confirm this. “No other heads of state other than those from foreign royal families have been invited to the wedding,” the spokesman said.
The Daily Mail triggered a flood of stories and internet rumors when it reported in mid-December that the Obamas were unlikely to be invited to William and Kate’s wedding. The Daily Mail said Prince William’s wedding is not an official "state occasion," since William "is not yet heir to the throne." As a result, protocol does not require the couple to invite heads of state.
The Mail cited someone it identified only as a "senior courtier" as its source of information about the Obamas:
Daily Mail, Dec. 17: A senior courtier said: "It is certainly not the case that all foreign heads of state will be excluded. The guest list is still being drawn up and could change, but as things stand it’s right (to say Mr Obama will not be invited)."
It’s common for American presidents to attend official state visits at the invitation of the queen, but rare for them to attend royal weddings — even when they got invitations — so it would not be unusual if the Obamas did not attend.
- President Truman did not attend Princess Elizabeth’s wedding on Nov. 20, 1947. Truman Library Archivist Randy Sowell said library records show the British government invited "the United States to send an official representative to the wedding." Truman "selected the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, Lewis W. Douglas, as the official representative. Neither President Truman nor first lady Bess Truman attended the wedding" of the woman who is now queen of England.
- President Eisenhower and first lady Mamie Eisenhower were not invited to Princess Margaret’s wedding on May 6, 1960, according to Kevin Bailey, an archivist at the Eisenhower Library. Instead, Eisenhower remained in Washington, D.C., and signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960. A summary of telephone calls maintained at the library show the president had to be convinced by John Hay Whitney, the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, to send a wedding gift to Princess Margaret, Bailey told us. In an April 29, 1960 phone call, Eisenhower told Whitney he was against sending a gift because "no official notification of the wedding had come to him," but Whitney insisted, and "settlement was made on a small wedding ring ashtray," the records show.
- President Nixon did not attend Princess Anne’s wedding to Lt. Mark Phillips on Nov. 14, 1973. Instead, Nixon met with a group of House members that morning, and senators that evening to discuss Watergate, according to the Nixon Library. The New York Times reported two weeks before the wedding that no member of the Nixon family was invited.
- President Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan were invited to the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. The president did not attend, but the first lady did.
- Nancy Reagan was also invited to the wedding of William’s uncle, Prince Andrew, to Sarah Ferguson in 1986. Again, the first lady attended without the president.
- President Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton did not attend Prince Edward’s wedding to Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999. But then again neither did British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The New York Times reported on the day of the wedding that "the guest list of 550 to the wedding itself inside St. George’s Chapel included no politicians."
— Lauren Hitt and Eugene Kiely
Sources
ABC News. "Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton: The Invitation of the Decade." 10 Jan 2011, accessed 19 Jan 2011.
“His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton are engaged to be married.” Press release. The Prince of Wales. 16 Nov 2010.
Schlesinger, Fay. "Snub for Obamas as Royal sources reveal they will not be invited to Prince William’s wedding." Daily Mail. 17 Dec 2010.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library . The Royal Wedding 1981 – 1989. Undated, accessed 19 Jan 2011.
Associated Press."Received Handwritten Note From Prince First Lady to Attend Andrew’s Wedding." Los Angeles Times. 4 Jun 1986 .
Hoge, Warren. "At Windsor, Royal Wedding Has a Common Touch." New York Times. 20 Jun 1999.
Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. President Richard Nixon’s Daily Diary. 14 Nov 1973.
Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. The President’s Appointments. 6 May 1960.
Harry S Truman Library and Museum. The President’s Day. 20 Nov 1947.
Bailey, Kevin, archivist, Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. Interview with FactCheck.org. 21 Jan 2011.
Sowell, Randy, archivist, Harry S Truman Library. E-mail sent to FactCheck.org. 21 Jan 2011.