The Duke and Duchess of Sussex last travelled to the UK together in September 2022.
Meghan Markle pictured at the late Queen’s funeral on September 19, 2022 (Image: GETTY)
Meghan Markle was reportedly asked by King Charles to “stay away” from the late Queen Elizabeth II’s deathbed for one major reason. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had travelled to the UK for work commitments just days before the late monarch passed away on September 8, 2022.
The visit marked their last joint visit to the UK, with Meghan having not travelled to Britain since 2022. The couple’s children, Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three, have also not visited the UK since the Platinum Jubilee in June 2022.
Just hours before the late Queen died, a spokesperson said that both Harry and Meghan were travelling to the Balmoral Estate in Scotland to see the 96-year-old – however, Meghan was later dropped due to a “change of plans”.
Meghan pictured with the late Queen back in 2018 (Image: GETTY)
Reports at the time suggested that King Charles had requested for Meghan to “stay away” to allow Harry to visit his grandmother alone. The same had also been requested of the now-Princess of Wales.
According to Robert Hardman’s book Charles III: New King, New Court, The Inside Story, the King had requested for Meghan to not visit the late Queen in order for the royals to say their final goodbyes and to not engage in petty infighting.
In his bombshell memoir Spare, Harry recalled how news that Kate would also not be visiting instantly calmed him down. Writing in Spare, he added: “Meg and I looked at flight options. The Press started phoning; we couldn’t delay a decision any longer. We told our team to confirm: We’d be missing the WellChild Awards and hurrying up to Scotland.
“Then came another call from Pa. He said I was welcome at Balmoral, but he didn’t want…her. He started to lay out his reason, which was nonsensical, and disrespectful, and I wasn’t having it. “Don’t ever speak about my wife that way”.
Speaking of when he heard Kate was also not attending, he added: “He stammered, apologetic, saying he simply didn’t want a lot of people around. No other wives were coming, Kate wasn’t coming, he said, therefore Meg shouldn’t. “Then that’s all you needed to say”
“By now it was midafternoon; no more commercial flights that day to Aberdeen. And I still had no response from Willy. My only option, therefore, was a charter out of Luton. I was on board two hours later.”
