Prince Harry and Meghan Markle know they “look petulant and rude” for not attending Prince Philip’s memorial service, a royal expert says.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were the only senior members of the Royal Family absent from the Duke of Edinburgh’s Thanksgiving Service held at Westminster Abbey on Tuesday.
Harry, 37, announced the decision to remain in California in early March after launching a legal challenge against the Home Office after they declared he would not be given the “same degree” of personal protective security when visiting from the US.
Royal author Ingrid Seward has said the couple "missed an opportunity" by not attending the service.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex
Yui Mok
She said: “Harry must have known it would look petulant and rude. And if he did not Meghan would have," she said.
“The wall of silence was as loud as if they had shouted from the abbey rafters. The normally verbose duke and duchess of Sussex said nothing.”
Ms Seward, speaking with The Mirror, pointed out that the couple didn’t post on social media or send flowers to be displayed at the Abbey.
Royal biographer Angela Levin slammed the Prince this week, saying the reason he didn’t attend the service was because he doesn’t want to come to the UK “without a Netflix gang of photographers”.
Queen Elizabeth II, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall during the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in London
Dominic Lipinski
Speaking on GB News Breakfast with Eamonn and Isabel, Ms Levin said: “He needs to make another documentary because they’ve got lots of money and they haven’t really done anything.
"I think that’s what it is, he wants to have that as an excuse.
"He can go around everywhere and do all these things, but you can’t have your royal cake and eat it I'm afraid."
Harry and Meghan signed a reported £112million deal with Netflix in September 2020 to create documentaries.
A similar contract of £18million was signed with Spotify to produce podcasts for the platform in December 2020.
Only one trailer and a 30-minute podcast episode have been released so far.
Among those attending the memorial service were Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte were also present in honour of their great-grandfather – the first time they have attended a major public church service.
The Queen, 95, had been determined to make the appearance at the deeply personal occasion on Tuesday in honour of her “strength and stay” Philip, with her attendance only confirmed the same morning.
