When Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8, 2022, everything had already been planned for years under a special plan called Operation London Bridge. This plan detailed exactly what should happen when the Queen died. Meghan Markle also roasted Drew Barrymore’s weird behavior.
At the time, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were no longer part of the Royal Family, but they had planned to be there when the Queen passed away.
When the Queen suddenly became very ill at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, Harry and Meghan were already in the UK for charity events. At first, it was announced that they would both travel to Scotland, but later, Meghan did not go.
Reports say that King Charles (who was still Prince Charles then) told Harry that Meghan should stay behind to avoid family drama. He reportedly said the same about Kate Middleton, but a new book by royal expert Robert Hardman claims that Kate actually decided on her own to stay in England so she could be with her children on their first day at a new school.
This worked out in Charles’ favor because it made Harry feel better about Meghan not being allowed to come. At that time, Charles thought the Queen had a few more days to live, not just hours.
According to Harry’s book, Spare, when Charles called him, he told Harry he could come but said Meghan shouldn’t. Harry got upset, telling his father, “Don’t talk about my wife like that.” Charles then explained that no other wives were coming, including Kate, and that’s why he didn’t want Meghan there. Harry said that if that was the reason, Charles should have just said so from the beginning.
Since there were no regular flights available, Harry had to book a private plane from Luton. However, he struggled to get in touch with William’s team to coordinate travel. William and Harry were not speaking directly at the time, and the royal staff didn’t help connect them.
A royal book claims that William was not ready to talk to Harry, especially after the Oprah interview in 2021, where Meghan and Harry had made serious accusations about racism and mistreatment in the royal family. Some royals were still angry about it.
The book also says that King Charles was nervous about telling Harry that Meghan shouldn’t come because he knew Harry and Meghan often took offense easily. Charles also knew that their conversations might later be made public—which is exactly what happened when Harry released his memoir.
