Meghan Markle Dismisses ‘False and Frankly Ridiculous’ Coronation Claims

Welcome to this week’s edition of Royalist, The Daily Beast’s newsletter for all things royal and Royal Family. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Sunday.

Meghan was raising concerns about ‘unconscious bias’

Meghan Markle has confirmed that she took part in correspondence “two years ago” about “conversations from four years ago,” after a bombshell report in the Daily Telegraph reported that she and the then-Prince Charles had exchanged letters in the wake of her and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The Telegraph said the letters discussed the so-called “royal racist” who allegedly made a comment questioning the likely color of their then-unborn children’s skin. The correspondence was “thought to be one of the factors behind the decision” of Meghan not to attend the coronation, the Telegraph reported. “A source claimed that the letters make clear the identity of the senior member of the family who made the comment. It is understood that both the King and the Duchess acknowledged that the individual’s remark was not made with malice.”

Meghan’s side of the correspondence made clear “she had never intended to specifically accuse the individual involved of being a racist, but was raising concerns about unconscious bias,” the report said.

The somewhat inscrutable new statement by Meghan, released via the Twitter account of her biographer Omid Scobie, read: “The Duchess of Sussex is going about her life in the present, not thinking about correspondence from two years ago related to conversations from four years ago. Any suggestion otherwise is false and frankly ridiculous. We encourage tabloid media and various other royal correspondents to stop the exhausting circus that they alone are creating.”

REUTERS/Andrew Milligan/Pool

Meghan’s insistence that she is focused on living life “in the present” might seem contradictory to some, given that the couple spent much of last year working on a Netflix documentary which rehashed many of their historic grievances with the royal family. Harry has of course been heavily focused on the past with his memoir, Spare, which he described as a “look back project.”

In an interview for the book, he denied that Meghan’s comments in which she alleged “concerns” were raised about the likely color of her kids’ skin amounted to allegations of racism, accusing the “British press” of misrepresenting them.

In further developments, the London Times’ royal correspondent Valentine Low issued an apology for suggesting the Sussex camp had leaked the details of the letters to the Telegraph, writing on Twitter: “Given that legal letters have been sent by the Sussexes’ lawyers as well as the palace’s since the story was published, it seems I was wrong in assuming that it came from the Sussex camp. Sorry to all about that. But even more intriguing!”

The Telegraph report strongly suggested that Meghan was refusing to attend the coronation of King Charles in two weeks’ time because she was dissatisfied by the responses the palace had made to her complaints of bullying and neglect. Meghan’s side have said she is skipping the ceremony to host Prince Archie’s fourth birthday.

The story in the Daily Telegraph included the allegation that Harry and Meghan believe they were treated “appallingly” in the wake of the queen’s death, and that the Sussexes believe the family member who made the skin color comment did not act “with malice.”

The Sussex camp vowed over a year ago that they would no longer engage in anonymous briefings, and the firing off of legal letters from the famously litigious couple will likely chill the media’s desire to speculate on the matter.

Camilla’s ex is guest of honor at Coronation

Queen Camilla may have gotten divorced from husband Andrew Parker Bowles in 1995. But they have two children, five grandchildren, and on May 6 he will be “front and center,” at the Coronation, the Sunday Times reports. A friend of Parker Bowles’ told the paper: “They are joined at the hip. He arranges so much for her. They have lunch together the whole time. He’s right in there. He was always, and still is, Camilla’s co-conspirator.”

Camilla’s closest friend and one of her Queen’s Companions, the Marchioness of Lansdowne, told the Times: “Everybody loves Andrew. He’s a real charmer but he’s always terribly misbehaving. Andrew will ring her up and tell her when she’s got something wrong and she’ll ring him up and say when he’s misbehaving. Through adversity they’ve kept a really good family ethic. It helps with their children and grandchildren.”

REUTERS

Andrew’s nickname is “The Brigadier,” and before Camilla he dated Princess Anne. (As with Camilla, the two, the Times says, “remain close friends.”) He was present at both Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s wedding in 1981—as a commanding officer of the Household Cavalry mounted regiment, accompanied Charles and Diana’s carriage—and he was at Charles and Camilla’s wedding in 2005.

A friend of Parker Bowles’s told the paper: “As he came in to St George’s Chapel for Charles and Camilla’s service, he pulled a flower from one of the arrangements and stuck it in his button hole.”

Subscribe here to get all the latest royal news and gossip with Tom Sykes and Tim Teeman.

Cute Louis pics published

The revelation that Charles and Meghan wrote to each other about the racism controversy has somewhat overshadowed what was supposed to be the big royal set piece of the weekend; the publication of photos of Prince Louis to mark his 5th birthday.

While the youngster has won a legion of fans for the funny faces he has pulled at various formal royal events over the years, these new pictures are traditional and adorable, with one showing him perched on a pile of garden cuttings in a wheelbarrow being pushed by his mum. The pictures were taken by Millie Pilkington, who photographed the couple in 2011.

It’s been something of a weekend for royal pictures, with a photograph of the queen with surrounded by younger members of her family being released to mark what would have been her 97th birthday.

Archie’s low key birthday party

As we all now know, the reason that Meghan Markle is not coming to King Charles’ coronation is absolutely nothing to do with anything that may have happened in the past because she resolutely lives in the present. But can we expect a private zoo and Disneyland rides in the garden of her Montecito home for Archie’s big day? Not a bit of it. People magazine quotes a source as saying: “It’s going to be a low-key party at home. They’ll have friends around them and Meghan’s mom, Doria [Ragland]. Meghan will definitely have support that weekend.”

A slimmed-down coronation and a low-key fourth birthday party? Why is everyone and everything so determined to be boring? Can someone please drop a royal glitter bomb, now!

This week in royal history

Happy birthday Prince Louis. Kate and William’s youngest turns 5 today!

Unanswered questions

The “royal racist” is back, identity still unknown. Who was it? Will Harry and William have any time, or desire to speak, at King Charles’ coronation?

Love The Daily Beast’s royal coverage? Sign up here to get Royalist newsletters sent straight to your inbox.