A welcome absence. Queen Elizabeth was thankful that Meghan Markle didn’t attend Prince Philip‘s April 2021 funeral, Tom Bower claims in a new royal biography.
The book, titled Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between The Windsors, is due out July 21 from Blink Publishing, and London’s The Times shared an excerpt on Friday, July 15, that describes the Queen’s alleged relief ahead of the big day.
“’Thank goodness Meghan is not coming,’ the monarch said in a clear voice to her trusted aides,” Bower writes.
After the Duke of Edinburgh passed peacefully in his sleep at age 99 earlier that month, the former actress was advised not to travel since she was seven months pregnant. “Meghan will be staying in California. She can’t go on doctor’s orders,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the ceremony. “She is too far along to fly and it’s recommended she rest in the final months.”
The insider added at the time that Prince Harry and Duchess of Sussex, who welcomed son Archie in May 2019, took the recommendation very “seriously” because she suffered a miscarriage less the previous July. “Doctors don’t think the stress of it all is worth her risking losing another baby,” the insider explained. The pair welcomed daughter Lilibet, now 13 months, the following June.
The Duke of Sussex, now 37, kept in contact with his pregnant wife from his native England, frequently touching base with the Suits alum, now 40. “He’s already really missing Meghan and Archie and has been FaceTiming them every day to check in,” a source told Us at the time. “He actually speaks to Meghan a few times a day because he worries [about] leaving her when she’s so far along in her pregnancy.”
The Invictus Games cofounder took the stress on by himself. Philip’s death came just a month after Meghan and Harry’s CBS tell-all criticizing the royal family and explaining why they stepped down as senior royals and moved to California. Despite knowing he “was walking into the lion’s den so to speak,” Harry wanted to “show his respect toward his grandfather,” another insider told Us at the time.
“[Philip] and Harry had a very close relationship,” the source revealed in April. “Whilst they may not have been able to communicate during the final year or so of his life, Philip thought extremely fondly of his grandson and vice versa.”
Harry attended the funeral at St George’s Chapel on April 17, 2021, alongside the Queen, his father Prince Charles, stepmother Duchess Camilla, brother Prince William and sister-in-law Duchess Kate, among other members of the extended family. William and Harry were part of the funeral procession but they were noticeably separated by a cousin.
“To avoid any problems with William, the brothers were separated as they walked towards St George’s Chapel by their cousin Peter Phillips,” Bower alleges in his July 21 book.
Buckingham Palace denied such speculation at the time. “These are practical changes rather than sending a signal,” the palace said in a statement two days before the patriarch was laid to rest. “This is a funeral and we are not going to be drawn into perceptions of drama. The arrangements have been agreed and represent Her Majesty’s wishes as well as the personal wishes of The Duke.”
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