Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s circle of A-list friends is dwindling with the likes of David and Victoria Beckham, Tom Cruise and now Taylor Swift cosying up to Prince William and Kate Middleton instead of the Sussexes. But there is one Hollywood legend the couple have been keeping in their back pocket – until now.

Harry and Meghan had grown close to John Travolta and were keen to put him front and centre of their friendship circle after the Grease actor personally recommended Harry for the Living Legend of Aviation award, which he picked up back in January. But John is now cooling off, preferring to live a more reclusive life than one in the spotlight as he enters his 70s.

A source tells Closer, “Meghan and Harry still count John as a close friend, but it’s disappointing to them that they’re not getting to see him as often as they hoped. After John presented the award to Harry at the Aviation Awards, they hoped they’d be able to connect with him more. They had all these plans to involve him in Meghan’s brand launch, and they’ve sent him countless dinner invites but so far, he’s been pretty unreceptive.”

But the insider maintains that John has “no issues” with the couple and the distance all comes down to his age.

They continue, “He still likes them and has never said a bad word, but at the end of the day he’s a 70-year-old man who prefers to stay at home. He’s actually a very shy and private person who prefers to spend his time with his kids and a small handful of his close friends. He almost never goes out so it’s nothing personal against Meghan and Harry, he’s politely just doing his own thing. But of course, they’re struggling not to get their feelings hurt and the irony isn’t lost on them that Tom Cruise is now throwing himself at the royals. They’d really hoped that John would be in their corner, it would have been the perfect way to prove that they’re just as in with the Hollywood A-list crown as the royals are. What’s even worse is they could see him getting reeled in by William who’s clearly hell bent on one-upping them.”

Of course, Saturday Night Fever star John has a long-lasting friendship with the Royal family, dating back to 1985 when he famously joined Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, on the dance floor at a party at The White House.

Speaking about the iconic moment in a 2021 documentary, John recalled how the then-First Lady of the United States, Nancy Reagan, told him it was Princess Diana’s “fantasy” to dance with him.

He said, “My heart starts to race, you know, and I tap her on the shoulder and she turns around and looks at me, and she had that kind of bashful dip [of her chin] that she did, and she looked up at me, and I said, ‘Would you care to dance with me?’

“The whole room cleared. We danced for what felt like 15 minutes. It was a storybook moment, we bowed when it was over, and, you know, she was off, and I was off, and my carriage turned into a pumpkin.”

Harry made light of his friend’s dance with his mother when he handed him the Living Legend of Aviation award, joking that he had told “everybody here” about the moment and would continue “dining out on that.”

He added, “But look at us now, it’s great! So if we’re not going to dance together, we’ll fly together.”

But the source continues that Harry has so far failed to get any time in the sky with John.

“Harry’s very keen to get some flying time in with John and they’ve offered to host him at their home in Montecito. They were hopeful he’d make time for them, but they’re not giving up.

“It’s very important to Harry and Meghan that they keep hold of the friends they do have right now, rather than worry about who they aren’t getting invites from. A lot is being made of their lack of popularity, but what they’re trying to do now is to focus on the folks they genuinely like and click with, rather than just trying to schmooze as many people as possible for the sake of popularity. They’ve really boiled it down to the people that they feel totally comfortable with, they’re both feeling the need to be quite guarded these days and don’t want just anyone at their dinner parties, they need to feel a genuine connection.

“As a result, a lot of their friends are more low-key, but there are a handful of Hollywood types that are on the list. Kris Jenner, Ellen DeGeneres, David Foster and Katherine McPhee along with Serena Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian are amongst those. John is also someone they feel a great bond with, which is why it’s frustrating and a little hurtful that he’s not seeing them more often. They’re not accusing him of snubbing them, because they do understand that he’s ultimately a pretty reclusive guy, who doesn’t really go for the limelight. Plus of course he lives in Florida and only comes to LA on occasion.”

And although John has been seen spending time with William and Kate over the years, the insiders says Harry and Meghan’s desire to spend time with him isn’t about point scoring.

“They genuinely enjoy his company, it’s not just about proving something. But no doubt it would go a long way to showing people, especially the royals, that they’ve still got some Hollywood pull if they were seen hanging with John. He’s been given plenty of Meghan’s jam and will be getting all the goodies they send out in the next round too, as well as getting an invite to Harry’s 40th birthday party, which is coming up.

“It’s probably going to put John in a bit of an awkward spot because just isn’t that big on socialising. He does seem to have a soft spot for them, but he almost never goes out these days, so the odds of him showing up for Harry’s birthday are pretty slim, he’s too much of a homebody.”