Hollywood celebrity George Clooney had no choice but to reject an invitation from Prince Harry , Meghan Markle during the Duke’s visit to the superstar’s Italian villa.

The Hollywood A-list actor, George Clooney, had no choice but to turn down a kind offer from Prince Harry during the Duke’s visit to the Clooneys’ Italian villa in Lake Como.

In the 2020 book, Finding Freedom, famously co-written by Omid Scobie, Prince Harry wanted to take a private ride on one of George’s motorbikes but the Oscar-winning star was recovering from a motorbike accident in Sardinia which had left the star hospitalised.

The book states “Harry took one of them out with one of his protection officers”, but because of George’s recent accident, he wasn’t back to enjoying his motorcycle rides and had to recover.

‘Finding Freedom’ claims Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle were just newlyweds when they flew out via private jet, arranged by George to Milan, and then were driven to his villa in Lake Como – only a few months after their royal wedding.

The book states: “George recently had an accident, so he wasn’t back on his bike yet.”

It is reported that Mr Clooney sustained non-life-threatening injuries while he was filming the TV series, Catch-22.

Not the only royals to have been invited to the Italian villa, Princess Eugenie and her then fiancé, Jack Brooksbank were also at the villa on holiday. At the exclusive retreat, they spent time looking after the Clooneys’ twins, Alexander and Ella and enjoyed playing basketball together.

George and his wife Amal, a human rights barrister, were two of the 600 guests invited to the wedding ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor on May 19, 2018. Dressed for the occasion, Amal wore a stunning yellow Stella McCartney dress with a matching hat.

The royal nuptials were compared to a red carpet event because of all the well-known faces and it was watched by more than 1.9 billion people worldwide.

Despite the Clooneys being located in a prized position during the wedding, it was claimed that they were less close to Meghan and Harry than previously thought.

Journalist Rachel Johnson recounted a “story doing the rounds” at the nuptials, which cast doubt over their closeness. She claimed the disclosure originated from Carolyn Bartholomew, one of three women to have shared a flat with Princess Diana in Earls Court, London.

Ms Johnson explained that Ms Bartholomew was “waiting for the wedding service to start” when she decided to spark conversation with those around her.

The writer continued: “She turned to the couple alongside her and asked how they knew Harry or Meghan. ‘We don’t’, the Clooneys answered brightly.”

In addition to their privileged position at the wedding, the celebrity couple were also among 200 guests invited to Meghan and Harry’s wedding reception.