Prince Harry and Meghan 'are being lined up to present the Best Picture Oscar' next week after pulling out of Prince Philip's memorial service in London

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have reportedly been lined up to present the Best Picture Oscar award next week, despite pulling out of Prince Philip's memorial service in London on March 29. 

• The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were said to have been approached at the end of last year, but it is not yet known whether they have agreed to attend the event
• The event will take place on Sunday, March 27 – just two days before the Prince Philip service in London
• This follows royal news that the Queen has had a wheelchair friendly lift fitted at Balmoral

According to reports, Harry and Meghan had initially been lined up to present the award for Best Actress in a nod to their work on women’s rights.

However, the plan was scrapped after Kristen Stewart was nominated for her role in Spencer, a film about the life of Harry's late mother, Diana. 

A source told The Sun newspaper, "It would be seen as a final kick in the teeth for the royal family if he did – he’s too nervous to fly to London without police protection, but happy to stand up in front of a huge live audience at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Not great optics."

The news comes just days after Prince Harry 'snubbed the Queen' as he confirmed he won’t be attending Prince Philip's memorial service at Westminster Abbey on March 29, but said he will be attending the Invictus Games at The Hague in the Netherlands next month.

Last week, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex has confirmed he will not be leaving his California mansion to attend his grandfather's memorial service.

But Royal commentator Angela Levin has slammed Prince Harry over his decision to miss this, but still attend the Invictus Games.

She warned that the Duke could use dropping out of major events at the last minute as leverage to secure personal protective security in the UK, after his lawyers shared a statement to say that Harry and his family don't feel it's safe to return the UK without sufficient police protection.

She said, "Harry has snubbed the Duke of Edinburgh, but really he is snubbing the Queen - who is still grieving the loss of her husband of 73 years."

"He has got this all wrong," the royal biographer added, referencing his desire for extra security protection. "If he comes over for a royal event he gets police protection. 

"What they won't do is, if he goes out with his friends he gets security. He'll probably use this same excuse to try to get out of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations."

Angela concluded, "'It's all about 'me, me, me' rather than going out of his way for his grandmother and showing her he cares. He's behaving like a child stamping his feet."