Meghan Markle will definitely be the big absentee at the coronation of Charles III. This May 6, Prince Harry will be alone to make an express round trip between California and London, to attend the coronation of his father. Criticised for this decision, the Duchess was defended, a few hours before the ceremony, by her biographer and unofficial spokesperson, Omid Scobie.
Meghan Markle will (again) be conspicuous by her absence. When her father-in-law Charles III is crowned in London on Saturday 6 May, the Duchess of Sussex will be far from Westminster Abbey. In early April, she and her husband, Prince Harry, announced that only the British monarch’s younger son would be present at the historic ceremony. The former actress will be with her children Archie and Lilibet Diana in Montecito, California. Strongly criticised for this bold choice, Meghan Markle can always count on her biographer Omid Scobie, who regularly acts as her spokesperson.
Interviewed on ITV’s This Morning on Wednesday 3 May, the writer tried to justify the former Suits star’s absence from Saturday’s coronation. “She is aware of the importance of the spotlight on her when she gets anywhere near history,” Omid Scobie began, regretting that this decision is, as always, presented as “intentional” in order to harm the monarchy. “If she had come and stood next to her husband, the commentary and narrative of the day would have been very different,” the author of Finding Freedom analysed.
Meghan Markle wants to “protect her peace”
Also, in the rest of his interview, Omid Scobie highlighted Meghan Markle’s desire to “protect her peace”. Withdrawn from royal public life for more than three years, Prince William’s sister-in-law seems to have indeed turned the page on her troubled history with the Firm, to focus on her projects and family. Going to the UK, even for an event as positive as the coronation of Charles III, would have put the Duchess back in the media spotlight.
The British tabloids being far from being fans of her, Meghan Markle would certainly have been confronted, once again, with acerbic decrypts of her every move. Her more than lukewarm reception at Elizabeth II’s funeral certainly did not encourage Doria Ragland’s daughter to intentionally throw herself into the lion’s den. Officially, the reason for her absence is that her son Archie’s fourth birthday falls on the same day as the coronation. Unofficially, negotiations about whether she should come on Harry’s arm did not bear fruit.
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