Meghan and Harry never wanted to appear on the royal balcony for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, according to a royal expert.
The pair were seemingly snubbed from the balcony for Trooping of the Colour with Her Majesty opting to limit those in appearance to working members of her family.
The monarch’s decision to only include royals carrying out official public duties was taken “after careful consideration”, Buckingham Palace said.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW
But Sussex friendly journalist Omid Scobie has now said that while the couple were “very keen” to be part of the celebrations, they already had reservations about the balcony appearance before it was announced.
Mr Scobie said: “As is often the case, the reality is much less severe when you hear that Prince Harry had already spoken with his grandmother about the possibility of not attending Trooping the Colour long before last week's announcements.
“I’m told by a source that the Duke of Sussex had actually expressed some time ago that he and Meghan were very keen to be a part of the Jubilee engagements, including the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral."
He told Yahoo: “But less so for the formal balcony moment, which was felt on both sides to be more appropriate for their lives prior to stepping back."
Meghan and Harry will bring their children Archie and Lilibet to the UK for the celebrations, while Thomas Markle will also be in attendance.
Mr Markle exclusively told GB News last month that he would be coming for the celebrations.
Speaking before Meghan and Harry had confirmed their attendance, Mr Markle told Dan Wootton Tonight that he’d “love” to speak with the pair to repair any issues there may be.
He said: “I’d love to reach out and speak with them and try to figure out what went wrong and how we can repair it.
“I don’t see that happening, but I’d certainly like to try.”