Why Didn't Kate Middleton Visit a Dying Queen Elizabeth? New Details About Future Queen's Decision Emerge
Kate, the then-Duchess of Cambridge, did not join other royals at Queen Elizabeth II's deathbed, and here's why.
When details began to emerge about Queen Elizabeth II's death on September 8, 2022, it was widely speculated as to the reason Kate, Princess of Wales, did not attend to the monarch on her deathbed. The more reported claim was that both Kate and Meghan Markle were asked to stay behind so as not to crowd the ailing monarch, but this has now been disputed.
The revelations are revealed in author Robert Hardman's new book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story. In the tome, Hardman recounts how royal sources shared with him that the king-to-be decided to tell his youngest son that the Duchess of Cambridge was being kept away from the ailing monarch's deathbed since the Queen did not want numerous people surrounding her.
The real truth was that Kate had told Prince Charles she would stay behind in England to look after her children, while Prince William took an immediate flight to the Scottish Highlands. Charles took the opportunity to twist this information to "prevent a feud" with Harry to show that it would be wise for Meghan to stay away as well since the monarch's other daughter-in-law was doing the same.
It is implied that nobody wanted the Duchess of Sussex at Balmoral Castle, and Kate's wish to remain behind now gave an easy out to ensure that happened smoothly.
"It was by luck rather than judgment, but it made it a lot easier to tell Harry that he was coming alone," a royal aide spilled.
Sources also told Hardman that "like the late Duke of Edinburgh, she [Queen Elizabeth] did not like a queue of family well-wishers flocking to her bedside when ill," which meant there was some small truth to what the Prince of Wales told the Duke of Sussex that morning.
Despite an excuse being given, small elements of drama were building in the background of Her Majesty's final moments on Earth, and all of this concerning Harry and Meghan.
After hanging up with his father, Harry called William to ask him about expedited travel arrangements to Ballater, Scotland, but later wrote in his memoir, Spare, that he received no reply from his elder brother. Hardman wrote about the incident by stating: "Clearly, Prince William did not regard this as the appropriate moment for the intensely difficult conversation he needed to have with his brother."
Harry and Meghan both happened to be in Britain the day Elizabeth II died. Author Omid Scobie also wrote about the lack of a reply from William toward his brother in his book, Endgame. "'William ignored him,' said a family source. 'He clearly didn’t want to see his brother,'" he wrote.
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Daily Mirror reported on excerpts from Hardman's book.
