Meghan Markle did not want to “play second fiddle to Kate” and would only have attended King Charles III’s coronation “if she was assured of a prominent position,” royal experts claim.
The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with her children Archie and Lilibet for the May 6 ceremony — for an expected relaunch of her career once her husband, Prince Harry, returns.
It was confirmed this week that Prince Harry will only attend his father’s coronation ceremony and is not expected to attend any other events over the weekend or be part of the coronation procession.
Friend of the couple Omid Scobie was quick to reveal to his followers that a big reason Meghan had decided to stay in LA was because Archie turns four on the same day as the ceremony.
But royal commentators have said they instead don’t believe this to be the case pointing to the long-running feud between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family.
Catherine Duchess of Cambridge and Meghan Duchess of Sussex attend Trooping the Color 2018 at Buckingham Palace
Prince Harry will only attend the coronation during a ‘quick’ visit to the UK, while Meghan stays home with their children
Observers said the Princess of Wales had “arranged” Meghan to be “humiliated” if she attended the coronation, and suggested Buckingham Palace knew its decisions would “deter” the Duchess from coming.
They also speculated about a career relaunch after the coronation, saying the next steps she takes are “critical” to her long-term success.
An expert added that King Charles “could and should have been sure that Harry was not coming.”
But so said sources close to the palace this week the monarch was ‘happy’ with his son’s decisionand was sad that he wouldn’t see Meghan or his grandchildren.
It was also revealed this week that Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of the disgraced Duke of York and mother of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, has not received an invitation to the ceremony.
Royal pundit Richard Fitzwilliams said he believes Meghan “would be there” if she believed the coronation would help her personal brand.
He said: “Meghan has been asked to attend the coronation, but her decision not to go is clear evidence that she sees herself as completely removed from the royal family.
She has the excuse of Archie’s birthday, but if she thought it would benefit their brand, she’d be there.
King Charles III, pictured in Sandhurst on Friday, ‘could and should have ensured’ Prince Harry did not attend his coronation, a royal commentator said
Since retiring as a working royal, Prince Harry (right) has launched a series of attacks against his relatives, including his father the king (left)
“We know that Harry will be attending alone, according to Omid Scobie, it appears he will be attending the ceremony alone and his visit will be short-lived. It seems there won’t be much, if any, chance of even the beginning of any reconciliation.’
Commentator Tom Bower said Prince Andrew’s ex-wife Fergie was not invited to the coronation because she is “not a member of the royal family.”
In contrast, he said Kate Middleton “made sure” Meghan would be “humiliated” if she attended the coronation, and that King Charles should have banned Prince Harry from attending.
He told MailOnline: ‘Fergie is left out because she’s not a member of the royal family and Charles hates her.
Her past behavior has permanently barred herself from public ceremonies, and her presence would provoke critical remarks that Charles does not need.
Megan is different. Although she was invited, I never thought she would come. She would only have come if she had been assured of a prominent position.
She was deliberately denied that. Meghan was also told she would have to bow to the Queen, Kate and Sophie. Everyone at Buckingham Palace knew that was too much for her and would be another reason to keep her from coming.
In any case, Meghan wouldn’t want to play second fiddle to Kate, and Kate certainly made sure that when Meghan came, she would be humiliated.
Meghan doesn’t want to be part of the royal family. She gained all the benefits of marriage and never wanted to play a supporting role in the service to the country.
The guest list at her 2018 wedding showed that she had always planned to return to California. Now she wants to move on to the next phase of her adventurer career.
“The question was always whether Harry would come alone. That was uncertain.
“King Charles could and should have kept Harry from coming, but in the end the king came to an ugly compromise.
Harry will come, but is relatively on the sidelines. He is fifth in line of succession and does not want to be denied his rights. Nor does he want to completely cut himself off from Britain. So he succumbed.
Archie, pictured with his parents as a baby, turns four on May 6 and will have his mum with him to celebrate as his dad flies to the UK
PR guru Mark Borkowski said Meghan’s next move is crucial as Spare and her husband’s “truths” in the media blitz that followed had damaged his brand and affected her as well
“Talking about Archie’s birthday is just a Sussex smokescreen to deny the truth: their demands were rejected.”
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede told MailOnline that Meghan is in the process of separating herself from the royals, for her own benefit, while her husband maintains his connections by heading to London on May 6.
He said: “I think once the coronation is over and the eyes of the world are not on the King and Prince Harry, Meghan will launch a new initiative. I suspect she’s been working on some new projects that allow her to stand on her own instead of using Prince Harry.
“I would advise her to let the coronation pass and then launch new projects that will bring in money and allow her to put a real stake in the ground and really establish her as a global celebrity.
‘She has to wait! Otherwise it will damage hair. I think she will most likely announce a wellness area like the Tig or a new documentary series.”
PR guru Mark Borkowski said Meghan’s next move is crucial, as Spare and her husband’s “truths” in the media blitz that followed had damaged his brand and tarnished her as well.
He said, “She kept her head down for a while. I suspect this is due to the noise that accompanied Spare, it caused discussion and a huge amount of coverage. I don’t think it played well in America, especially with their fundraisers.
The royal family refused to comment, so it turned into one-sided nagging and a visceral story about his life that didn’t resonate well. And they were both challenged by that because they have a constant mission to raise money and generate coverage to help her brand.
‘She has no use in disturbing the king’s great day. She needs to take a step back. In the PR game is to choose your battle and the strategy will be to get past the coronation.
“The fact that she’s not here is a statement that the UK doesn’t treat her particularly and it’s like, ‘Poor me.’
But Meghan and Harry’s story goes far beyond the borders of Britain and the Commonwealth. There will definitely be a restart from Meghan. It is impossible for them to remain silent.
“They need the royal splendor. They could eventually become an entity like Edward and Mrs. Simpson. Some leave royals with no connection to the exiled family. There are parallels there.
“They will generate interest again very quickly. But it’s getting harder and harder. For many, Spare was a series of stories that went too far’.
The speculation about Meghan Markle’s career came after she stepped out of the spotlight following the release of her husband Spare’s memoir.
The Duchess of Sussex has only been seen in public four times since the launch of the Sussexes Netflix series in December, as experts claimed she kept her head down to avoid flak from the book.
In the series, the couple accused members of the royal family of briefing them, while Prince Harry wrote in Spare that Queen Camilla “sacrificed” his wife on her “personal PR altar.”
He also claimed that his brother William, now the Prince of Wales, physically assaulted him after an argument between his wife and Kate Middleton.