Prince Harry seems to get along with the Obamas. He has worked with Michele Obama on certain charitable pursuits and recently he bagged the first interview with former US President Barrack Obama since leaving office. 

So it isn’t really a stretch that Prince Harry would probably extend an invitation to the former US Presidential couple to his wedding to Meghan Markle, right? After all, having the Obamas attend your special day is a coup, even for a royal.

But when asked by hosts of the Today program at BBC 4 which aired after Harry’s taped interview with Barrack Obama, on whether he plans on inviting the former first couple, the Prince played coy. “We haven’t put the invites or the guest list together yet so who knows whether he’s going to be invited or not. I wouldn’t want to ruin that surprise,” he said.

The wedding is not really a full state occasion, but being a senior member of the royal family means that Buckingham Palace will be vetting the guest list and the British government will be consulted. And that’s where the problem comes in.

According to British tabloid The Sun, the British government does not want to cause a rift with the current US administration. The current President Donald Trump is known for being vindictive when it comes to personal slights and he hasn’t held back in showing his contempt for his predecessor. Harry’s bride-to-be, actress Meghan Markle has also criticized the then-candidate Trump during the height of the Presidential campaign.

An unnamed government source has told the paper that “Harry has made it clear he wants the Obamas at the wedding, so it’s causing a lot of nervousness, Trump could react very badly if the Obamas get to a Royal wedding before he has had a chance to meet the Queen.”

But of course Trump is highly unpopular in the United Kingdom, there is even a petition to stop him from going on a state visit. It was able to garner an outstanding 1.8 million signatures before it was stopped due to the snap Parliamentary elections called on by British Prime Minister Theresa May. Back home, Trump’s popularity is the lowest that any modern US President has ever had and he recently suffered a sharp rebuke from a majority of the world’s nations (including the United Kingdom) due to his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

So why would the United Kingdom, a powerful nation in its own right, worry over the personal ire of Trump over a social event?

Maybe it has something to do with the perceived weakness of Theresa May’s government. With Brexit negotiations in full swing and relations with the Trump White House already at a low, the PM may still be hoping she could get a good trade deal with the US to offset any fall out from leaving the European Union. If the PM had a stronger majority in Parliament or if the UK was not leaving the single EU market then perhaps the guest list in a royal wedding won’t be such a big deal.

So technically who Prince Harry and Meghan Markle invite to their wedding could shape the economic destiny of the United Kingdom and the European continent at large. Their wedding may actually be more significant than William’s- the future King!

And to think that most people just worry about selecting the right cake or dress for the big day.