In Prince Harry‘s memoir Spare, more and more revelations are coming to light. One story sheds some light on a very recent event, the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September of 2022. In his book, the Duke of Sussex alleged that his wife Meghan Markle was banned from the Queen’s death bed by King Charles III.
The King did not want the Duchess to see Elizabeth in her last moments, for reasons that the Daily Mail reports he called “nonsensical and disrespectful.”
Harry responded to his father’s decree by saying, “Don’t ever speak about my wife that way!”
The King eventually apologized to Harry, but it seems the damage was done. When news of Elizabeth’s failing health reached the Sussexes, they were in London for the WellChild Awards ceremony. Shortly after, they decided to travel to Balmoral together, a decision announced by their spokesperson — but a few hours later, it was clarified that Harry would be traveling alone.
“Charles told Harry that it wasn’t right or appropriate for Meghan to be in Balmoral at such a deeply sad time,” a source said. It was pointed out to him that Kate was not going and that the numbers really should be limited to the very closest family.”
When Harry arrived at Balmoral, he had some quiet moments with his grandmother and spent the evening with his father and brother before returning to his wife. He also says that he was not notified of her actual death before seeing it in an article for the first time.
In Spare, Harry claims that his father’s antagonism towards Meghan is about a fear of being “overshadowed” by the beautiful and charismatic former actress, and heavily implies that the King’s anxieties about Meghan mirrored his dislike of the late Princess Diana’s popularity with the people.
Charles, however, told Harry that he would not support Meghan financially, saying he was “not made of money.”
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.