Thank goodness!
Queen’s view as Meghan stayed away from Philip’s funeral, according to new biography
THE Queen privately expressed relief that Meghan would not be attending Prince Philip’s funeral, a new biography claims.
Author Tom Bower writes that the grieving monarch told ‘trusted royal aides’ on the morning she was due to lay her husband of 73 years to rest at Windsor: ‘Thank goodness Meghan is not coming.’
The claim is made in a new book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between The Windsors.
Mr Bower is known as a leading investigative journalist who has previously written unauthorised biographies of Boris Johnson, Richard Branson and Robert Maxwell.
The book, being serialised in The Sun and The Times, says: ‘In Windsor Castle the Queen was preparing to face the public on one of the saddest days of her life. Philip had been her rock for the previous 70 years.
‘To comply with Covid restrictions she would grieve alone inside the chapel. “Thank goodness Meghan is not coming,” the monarch said in a clear voice to her trusted aides.’
The biographer claimed she made the observation at Windsor Castle as she prepared to go St George’s Chapel for the service, where the world watched on television as she sat alone due to Covid restrictions.
The alleged comment is believed only to refer to the drama surrounding speculation over whether both Harry and Meghan would fly in from the US at a time of family mourning as opposed to any personal animosity towards Meghan from the monarch.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment last night.
But sources close to the Queen questioned whether the monarch’s focus would have been ‘on anything else but her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, on the day of his funeral’.
The Palace generally makes a point of refusing to comment on biographies about members of the Royal Family, of which there are many.
While Prince Harry attended his late grandfather’s funeral on April 17 last year, the Duchess of Sussex announced that her doctors had not allowed her to fly from the US as she was seven months pregnant with her second child, Lilibet.
She joined Harry in posting an online tribute to Philip and sent a wreath.
It was the first time that Harry had seen his family since he and Meghan gave their bombshell interview to Oprah Winfrey in which they accused the Royal Family of a slew of highly
‘Said to her trusted aides’
disputed transgressions including racism towards Meghan and their unborn first child, Archie.
There had been much debate following Philip’s death as to whether the couple would attend his funeral and, if so, how relations would be between them and the rest of the family.
Only Harry ended up flying over, arriving a few days before the service to quarantine in line with the UK’s Covid restrictions at the time.
He flew back to the US immediately after the service, having spoken only briefly to his brother.
Relations between the Sussexes and the rest of the family have barely recovered, although Harry and Meghan did fly over with their children for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations last month.