Kate Middleton and Queen Elizabeth.Photo: Stefan Rousseau - WPA Pool/Getty; Kirsty O’Connor-WPA Pool/Getty
A new book is shedding light on whyKate Middletondidn’t travel to Scotland withPrince Williamon the dayQueen Elizabethdied.
In an excerpt of royal biographer Robert Hardman’s book,The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy(out Jan. 18), in theDaily Mailon Friday, the author touches on the events surrounding thedeath of Queen Elizabeth on Sept. 8, 2022.
It was the start of a new term at a new school for the three siblings and Kate decided that one parent should be with the children on such an important day, according to the excerpt.
Jonathan Brady - Pool/Getty
In 2022, reports indicated thatMeghan Marklehad been requested to stay behind whilePrince Harrymade his journey to Scotland, with the perception that Kate was also excluded for similar reasons. But according to royal biographer Hardman, Kate made the decision herself.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in Sept. 2022.Martin Meissner/AP/Shutterstock
Harry recounted the day that his grandmother died in his memoir,Spare,released last January. Harry and Meghan, who live in California, were in the U.K. with a scheduled charity event appearance in London when he got a call from his father saying “Granny’s health had taken a turn.”
Harry wrote, “She was up at Balmoral, of course. Those beautiful, melancholy late-summer days. He hung up—he had many other calls to make — and I immediately texted Willy to ask whether he and Kate were flying up. If so, when? And how? No response. Meg and I looked at flight options.”
“Then another call came from Pa,” the Duke of Sussex continued. “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,” the text continued. “Then that’s all you needed to say.”
King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in Sept. 2022.Andy Stenning - WPA Pool/Getty
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According to theDaily Mail’s excerpt ofThe Making of a King, a member of the palace staff says that Charles had been urgently trying to make contact with Harry.
“There were repeated attempts to get through to him but no calls were going through because Harry was airborne,' the official says.
source: people.com
