The decision of Meghan Markle to not attend King Charles' coronation has stirred various speculations. A royal expert claims that her absence is not due to her son Archie's birthday, but rather unmet demands from the royal family.
Meghan Markle's Nonattendance at Coronation: Archie's Birthday a Factor? On Wednesday, Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Harry would be present at King Charles' coronation next month. However, Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, will remain in California.
Royal reporter and Finding Freedom co-author, Omid Scobie, mentioned in a tweet that Archie's upcoming birthday was among the reasons Markle chose to stay in their $14 million Montecito mansion.
Scobie tweeted: "I understand that Archie's fourth birthday (also on May 6) played a factor in the couple's decision. Expect it to be a fairly quick trip to the UK for Prince Harry, who will only be attending the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey."
However, some were skeptical about Scobie's explanation.
One person commented: "LIES!! They traveled with Lilibet for The Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Lies.
Another added: "I agree. They could celebrate in London. I read SPARE and towards the end of the book (when then Prince Charles was telling Harry about his grandmother) Harry had to shut down his father disparaging his wife. What are the chances Harry told Meghan what was said about her?"
Royal Expert's Take on Meghan Markle's Absence Princess Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, was not satisfied with the excuse that Markle remained in California for Archie's birthday. He claimed that her security would be at risk, and she could potentially be booed or face worse outcomes.
Burrell stated, as per Mirror: "It's right that she's not here because I think her security would be in danger. She would be at risk of being booed or even worse."
Regarding Archie's birthday as the reason for Markle's decision, he added: "This excuse of her not coming because it's Archie's birthday is pathetic because Lilibet spent her first birthday here at Frogmore Cottages, so why couldn't Archie?"
Alternatively, Daily Mail Diary editor and broadcaster Richard Eden offered a different perspective on Markle's absence. In a recent episode of Daily Mail Royal's Palace Confidential, he suggested that Markle stayed home because the couple's demands from the royal family were not met.
Prince Harry requested an apology from his family to his wife, and they would consider attending the coronation if that occurred.
Host Jo Elvin inquired if they had received the desired apology. Here is Eden's response. "No. From everything I heard, that he hasn't, and I think this is you know, him sort of giving in. You might remember there's a string of comments, you know, we have all these TV interviews he was giving, he was saying about how they needed to sit down and discuss things before they would even consider whether they would come. They wanted apologies [and] this type of thing. And from everything I've heard, you know that simply hasn't happened. And let's be clear, I think that's why Meghan isn't coming because they haven't got what they wanted."
Eden added that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex "reluctantly" compromised by agreeing that only Prince Harry would attend the coronation while she and the children stayed home.