Harry Reveals Why Charles Banned Meghan Markle From Meeting Dying Queen Elizabeth: "Don't Ever..."

Queen Elizabeth passed away peacefully in her sleep on September 8, 2022. Her funeral was attended by the entire royal family, including exiled royals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. However, during the Queen’s final hours, then-Prince Charles reportedly instructed Markle to ‘stay away’ from his mother's deathbed. Royal author Robert Hardman claims Charles forbade her from coming to avoid any family conflict.

According to the Daily Mail, a Sussex spokesperson initially stated the couple would travel together to see the Queen, but Markle dropped out last minute over an unspecified ‘change of plans.’ In his book Charles III: New King, New Court, The Inside Story, Daily Mail writer Hardman claims Charles asked Harry to come without Markle. He cited that even Kate Middleton chose to stay behind to support her children as they had just started in a new school. Middleton was allegedly used as an excuse to pacify Harry, who was furious when told that his wife was not welcome at Balmoral.

Harry has echoed Hardman’s claims in his memoir, Spare. As reported by the Mirror, he shared, “He [Charles] said I was welcome at Balmoral, but he didn't want...her. He started to lay out his reason, which was nonsensical and disrespectful, and I wasn't having it.” Harry recalled retorting firmly, “Don't ever speak about my wife that way…He [Charles] stammered, apologetic, saying he simply didn't want a lot of people around. No other wives were coming, Kate wasn't coming, he said, therefore Meg shouldn't.”

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A post shared by Prince Harry & Meghan Markle (@sussexroyal_hm)

Royal correspondent, Katie Nicoll, also explained to Entertainment Tonight that the family wanted Harry to be by the Queen’s bed, even though he couldn't make it in time. She told the outlet, “But Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was not...invited to join the family. She has said she will go to Balmoral another time. But I think it is quite significant that Prince Harry traveled to Balmoral on his own without his wife.” She also mentioned that along with the now-King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla, other royal family members like Prince William, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, and Sophie, the Countess of Sussex, were there by the Queen’s deathbed.

Coming back to Hardman’s book, the author revealed that hours before the Queen’s death, she was visited by Charles and Camilla. The couple spoke to her for an hour before she died. Her funeral took place at Westminster Abbey in London on September 19, 2022. Later that evening, she was laid to rest in the Royal Vault of Windsor Castle's King George VI Memorial Chapel, alongside her husband, Prince Philip, her parents, and her sister.