Meghan Markle and Prince Harry ‘not invited’ to Kate Middleton’s 37th birthday celebrations as tensions rise between the Duchesses

MEGHAN Markle and Prince were ABSENT from Kate Middleton's intimate birthday celebrations last week as simmering tensions between the two Duchesses continue.

Kate celebrated her 37th birthday with close pals at her and husband Prince William's plush Norfolk pile Anmer Hall near Sandringham last Sunday.

And despite the lavish manor house boasting ten bedrooms - providing ample room for guests - Harry and Meghan were not in attendance, according to the .

It is not clear if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not invited - or had turned it down.

But among Kate's close-knit set of pals who could make the meal was old schoolmate Emilia Jardine-Paterson.

She played hockey with Kate when they were together at Marlborough College and is a godmother to Prince George.

Interior designer Emilia knows the Royal couple well - having taken Kate on a girls trip to Ibiza when she and Wills briefly split in 2007.

Her husband David - who also attended the birthday party - was at Eton with Prince William.

And Laura Meade, Princess Charlotte's godmother and one of Kate's closest friends, made the party alongside husband James.

Sophie Carter, another Norfolk friend, and her husband Robert also attended the meal - reported to be a Sunday roast.

Princess Charlotte and Prince George were pages at the couple's wedding last September.

The revelation that Meghan and Harry were not in attendance comes it emerged the Duchess of Sussex's female bodyguard has quit after less than a year.

The cop, who has never been named for security reasons, is her third close aide to leave in a little over two months.

She had replaced Sgt Bill Renshaw, Harry’s long-standing head of security, who retired after more than 30 years in the force.

But she has now quit after being in the job for only about six months, according to The Sunday Times.

The couple’s private secretary Samantha Cohen, 49, was the first to jump ship when she announced she was going in November.

In December, Meghan’s personal assistant Melissa Touabti also announced she was quitting after just six months.

Meghan and her husband Harry, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are due to move into Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle ahead of the birth of their first child.