Meghan Markle Is Reportedly ‘Protecting Her Peace’ by Skipping Coronation, Royals Are Relieved by Her Absence
Omid Scobie, the royal reporter who co-authored the Meghan Markle and Prince Harry biography Finding Freedom, gave an extensive interview on ITV’s “This Morning” Wednesday on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s coronation plans and how the royals feel about Meghan not attending. Harry will be “in and out” for Charles’ coronation ceremony Saturday, while Meghan will remain in California, where she will be celebrating their son Archie’s fourth birthday that day.
From what Scobie has heard from his sources, friends of Meghan’s, the duchess isn’t just staying behind for Archie in reality. “People around the Sussexes guided press at the time that this was very much about Archie’s fourth birthday. I disagree with that to some extent because I also know from friends of hers that she’s protecting her peace as well,” Scobie said. “She is aware of how much of the spotlight goes on her when she sets even a foot near the story. And I think a lot of that, although it’s often portrayed as intentional that she wants to steal the spotlight, but in this case, [if] she had simply come over and stood next to her husband, I would imagine the commentary and the narrative on the day would be very different for the days to follow.”
Scobie confirmed that some royals really are happy Meghan won’t be around. “I would say so [that some members of the family are quite relieved Meghan isn’t going],” he said. “And I would put it down to the fact that so much of the attention then goes on someone who they would rather the attention didn’t go onto. And if you look back at some of Harry and Meghan’s biggest problems, it was all down to the fact that everyone was always talking about them, the attention was always on them at times when it shouldn’t have been.”
As for Harry, he really won’t be there long, Scobie revealed: “Sources close to Harry say that it’s in and out, to attend the ceremony and do what’s asked of him. I believe that he’s open to the fact that if something’s asked of him on the day then that could change things, but the timing of the trip, he’s keen to be back in California with his own family as well. It’s sort of juggling the two families, really.”
You can watch Scobie’s full interview below:
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Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
