Royal Rumble: We Reveal Reason Meghan Markle was 'Asked to Stay Away' From Late Queen's Deathbed by King Charles — And His 'Excuse' to Calm Down Harry Over Request
Prince Charles did not want Meghan Markle to visit the Queen on her deathbed as he thought her presence could risk a fresh family confllct.
March 18 2025, Published 7:30 p.m. ET
Meghan Markle was asked to stay away from the late Queen's deathbed by King Charles to avoid another family conflict.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the monarch called sons William and Harry personally, urging them to travel up to Scotland as soon as possible in order to say their goodbyes to the beloved royal.
Meghan stayed in the U.S. when Harry returned to the U.K. to say his final goodbyes to his beloved grandmother.
It was initially thought Meghan and Kate did not attend due to Charles' preference for his sons to make the journey alone.
But according to a royal biographer, Kate turned down the opportunity, opting to stay with her young children as they started a new school.
And her decision was then allegedly used as an excuse, and, out of sheer luck, it helped calm Harry down when he was informed Meghan was not welcome at Balmoral.
In his memoir Spare, Harry said the news that Kate would also not be attending seemed to instantly calm him down.
Charles used Kate Middleton's decision to remain in England to his advantage when it came to dealing with Meghan.
He wrote: "Meg and I looked at flight options. The Press started phoning; we couldn't delay a decision any longer. We told our team to confirm: We'd be missing the WellChild Awards and hurrying up to Scotland.
"Then came another call from Pa. He 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. 'Don't ever speak about my wife that way.'
"He 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. 'Then that's all you needed to say.'
Kate and William were still hurt by claims made by Harry and Meghan during their interview with Oprah Winfrey.
"By now it was midafternoon; no more commercial flights that day to Aberdeen. And I still had no response from Willy. My only option, therefore, was a charter out of Luton. I was on board two hours later."
Harry had to charter a plane out of Luton as the offices of the other members of the Royal Family seemed unable to coordinate with his.
Biographer Robert Hardman wrote in his book that moments like the death of the Queen were "precisely the sort of situation when different royal teams talk to one another to get things done."
But a senior Kensington Palace source told him the Sussexes' aides made no call to Prince William's camp that morning, despite them having "all the numbers."
By this point, William was estranged from his brother, and there was no direct contact made between the pair as the Queen died, or it seems, in the days after.
Hardman wrote: "Clearly, Prince William did not regard this as the appropriate moment for the intensely difficult conversation he needed to have with his brother."
The author added that feelings about the Sussexes' March 2021 Oprah interview and the various claims against them were still raw.
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Charles came across as fraught and anxious while trying to explain to Harry that Meghan wasn't welcome, according to his youngest son.
He wrote: "There could be little scope for dialogue until its contents were known. The sense of reckless betrayal following the Sussexes' interview with Oprah Winfrey the year before, and its vague, unanswerable half-claims of institutional racism and hostility towards Meghan, still lingered.
"Some of the family were probably ready to give him a piece of their mind, says one of those in the midst of this fast-moving turn of events."
When it came to the phone call showdown between Charles and Harry, Hardman wrote it would have been difficult for gentle Charles to order Meghan away.
He wrote: "We can easily imagine the dread with which the Prince of Wales approached that call.
"The Sussexes' capacity for taking offence was well known and everyone was conscious that any conversation could end up in the public domain — as, indeed, this one did three months later."
