'Why' Meghan Markle didn't join Prince Harry at Prince Philip's funeral amid 'bad taste' gesture
As Philip grew weaker, as did Harry's bond with the royals
Prince Harry’s wife Meghan Markle was notably absent from the funeral of Prince Philip in 2021. An absence that followed a string of questionable behaviour.
On April 9, 2021, Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh died at the age of 99. His funeral took place on April 17.
According to reports, when it was confirmed that Meghan would not be attending Philip’s funeral, Queen Elizabeth II – who died on September 8, 2022, – reportedly shared her feelings.
According to royal biographer Tom Bower in 2022, the queen turned to aides and remarked: “Thank goodness Meghan is not coming.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s controversial move before death of Prince Philip
Just weeks before the death of Prince Philip, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sat down with Oprah Winfrey. This is where they discussed their reasoning for leaving the royal fold and made shocking allegations about mistreatment from the royal family and royal aides.
Harry’s decision to share his feelings about his strained relationship with his family was a decision that Prince Philip reportedly dubbed as “madness”.
Prince Philip had been admitted to hospital in February 2021. He then underwent a successful procedure on a pre-existing condition in early March.
Elsewhere, Harry and Meghan’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey was imminent. Despite calls for the interview to be delayed amid Philip’s health woes, the controversial conversation went ahead as planned and aired in the US on March 7, 2021, and the following day in the UK.
Evidently, at a very sensitive and awkward time for Harry, Meghan and the rest of the royals.
And unfortunately, this wasn’t the only blunder Harry and Meghan made amid Prince Philip’s demise.
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede shed light on all the PR faux-pas Harry and Meghan made during this difficult time.
Harry and Meghan’s PR faux-pas amid demise of Prince Philip
Just weeks before Prince Philip’s death, Harry and Meghan sat down for their controversial Oprah Winfrey interview.
Philip had been hospitalised weeks prior to it airing.
Consequently, concerns were already bubbling regarding his health. When asked whether going forward with the interview was the right PR move, Nick Ede shared his thoughts with Royal Insider.
He mused: “I think that the timing was bad but they will have scheduled the interview and its subsequent airing and no one knew what was going to happen to Philip at that time. The impact of the interview was going to send shockwaves and there was never a good or bad time to go ahead with the broadcast as whatever and whenever it was going to have the desired impact. Which it did in the end.”
Despite the reality of putting such a high-profile airing on hold, Nick acknowledged that Harry and Meghan’s failure to do so definitely had a detrimental impact on the way the public viewed them.
He said: “The perception of the pair as being ruthless was obviously increased due to the timing and the ageing of both the prince but also the queen (Queen Elizabeth II) as well.”
So, could Harry and Meghan have made a better decision to improve their reputation?
Harry and Meghan’s decisions were made with ‘maximum PR affect’
Nick Ede explained to us: “It’s really tough because this was their golden opportunity to put their story across and it would always be a huge story. They will have received a backlash whenever they put it out due to the nature of the interview and its revelations. They did what they wanted to do with the maximum PR affect.
“With hindsight they should have been more careful in what they said. As now, a few years down the line, lots of comments are being questioned. Social media is adrift with fanatic fact checkers who are all hell bent on seeking the truth to some of the revelations.
“Meghan’s words especially have been scrutinised and her comments fact checked. So, it’s only now that people are reflecting on the interview and picking up on what was said or wasn’t said.”
Harry and Meghan’s questionable behaviour didn’t end with the interview.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wreath at Prince Philip’s funeral
After the death of Prince Philip, Harry attended his funeral on April 17, where a colourful wreath from himself and Meghan was featured.
Not only was the wreath accompanied by a handwritten note from the Duchess of Sussex, who was absent, but a press release, that informed journalists of the meanings behind the flowers chosen in the floral arrangement, was distributed.
It looked like they were almost benefiting from the funeral
A move that critics have since slammed, with one even dubbing it “sickening”.
Nick shared his thoughts: “A press release about a wreath at a funeral is in extremely bad taste. They wanted to show that they cared but instead it looked like they were almost benefiting from the funeral.”
Referring to Meghan and Harry’s claims of a decaying relationship with the royals, Nick added: “And also it seemed that they were being very hypocritical due to the shock interview and what was revealed in it.”
Meghan Markle’s absence from Prince Philip’s funeral
Many raised eyebrows about Meghan’s absence, despite the reason being she was heavily pregnant with Lilibet at the time and had been advised not to make the trip from the US to the UK.
The following year, in March, when a memorial service was held for Philip, Harry and Meghan weren’t in attendance – again, ruffling feathers.
To attend would have looked terrible on her but also would have indicated that the royal family accepted her.
Royal expert Robert Jobson theorised to Us Weekly at the time that Prince Harry’s absence from the service could have a further negative impact on his relationship with his family.
Although, the prince’s reason for not attending was said to be due to a lack of proper security protection for himself and Meghan.
Harry and Meghan had ‘no choice’ but to miss key moments
Nick stated on their absences that Harry and Meghan’s previous “lambasting” of their relatives was a reason in of itself to miss such important moments.
He said: “Royal observers will have understood why they were absent at some of these key moments. The sheer fact that they had gone on the record to hundreds of millions of people and lambasted the very family they were a part of left them with no way to go.
“The royal watchers would have been appalled if Meghan had attended the funeral – she has, with her husband, extracted herself from the fold and to attend would have looked terrible on her but also would have indicated that the royal family accepted her and Harry’s behaviour, which they didn’t!”
Read now: Prince Philip made gut-wrenching confession before his death as Queen ‘refused to leave his side’
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