Understand Meghan Markle’s “troubled” relationship with King Charles III

With over 2,000 guests expected to attend King Charles III’s coronation ceremony, one thing is certain: direct members of the royal family such as Meghan Markle, and their children Archie and Lilibet will not be in attendance.

In addition to the fact that the prince’s family unit doesn’t have a good relationship with the monarchy, the event at Westminster Abbey takes place on the same weekend that Archie turns 4. As a result, Meghan and her two children will remain in the United States. Harry will make a brief appearance and sit away from the royals.

Despite the friction, Meghan Markle and King Charles III once had a good relationship and it hasn’t been long. In the book ‘What’s Left’, written by Prince Harry, he describes that his father was impressed to meet the actress.

At Harry and Meghan’s wedding, for example, it was Charles who walked the Duchess of Sussex down the aisle, playing the role of “father of the bride”. At the time, the actress’s father fell ill and gave up taking her to the altar. Harry then asked his father, who promptly agreed to his childbearing claim saying he supported them.

In 2018, the same year as the couple’s wedding, the British press also reported that the monarch affectionately nicknamed Meghan “tungsten”, to be strong and unshakeable. But, apparently, the relationship would have ended with the period leading up to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s departure from the royals, in 2021.

Press attacks and racist comments

According to Harry himself, shortly before the couple left the British royal family, the couple became frustrated with the position of King Charles III due to attacks by the British press against Meghan.

In the book, the prince reports that he repeatedly sought help from his father, but only from the monarch advised him not to read what was published. Meghan Markle has also contacted Camilla, Harry’s stepmother. However, she reinforced Charles III’s advice and claimed that she too had been “bad” in the past.

Harry also reported that there was a file general discussion among family members when it was decided that he and Meghan would no longer be royals. “It was terrifying to see my brother yelling at me, my father saying things that weren’t true, and my grandmother sitting there silently watching it all,” he said.

Charles is also named as the family member who questioned “how dark” the skin of the couple’s firstborn would be. The case was exposed in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, where Harry and Meghan denied that the comments would come from Queen Elizabeth or Prince Philip, without however mentioning who did it.

Forbidden to stay in Balmoral

Another situation that corroborated this deteriorating relationship was Meghan Markle’s “exile” to Balmoral Castle, where Queen Elizabeth II died. According to Harry, Charles III said he “was welcome, but not Meghan.”

At the time, Prince Harry said he would not accept disrespectful comments about his wife and even said his father stammered. Charles reportedly said that he just didn’t want many people around at the time.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry even attended Queen Elizabeth II’s wake, but without interacting with Charles and Camilla.

Inclusion of the couple

In his first speech as king, Charles made a point of mentioning the couple. At the time, the monarch remembered Harry and Meghan as a beloved couple building their lives overseas. Shortly thereafter, she also displayed a framed photo of the wedding in his office.

Meghan was also commemorated in an official pamphlet outlining the coronation programme. The photo, taken in 2018, shows the family unit of King Charles III, with Camilla of England; William, Kate and their three children, plus Meghan and Harry.

Source: Terra