Whenever royal correspondents Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand have more news to share, you know royal watchers are going to be analyzing all the past reports about Meghan and Harry and comparing notes. Scobie and Durand’s unauthorized book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family caused a huge stir when it came out last summer, and included claims that the bullying allegations made against Meghan by Palace staff were rescinded before going to HR, that Prince Harry had been fixated on mean comments made about him online, and that Kate once left Meghan alone at what was supposed to be a joint shopping trip.
Now that an updated version of Finding Freedom is here, tabloids are trying to piece together the timeline of the couple’s move to California, and what the beef between them and the rest of the family really means for the future. And one allegation that’s been dug up and is now re-making the tabloid rounds would, if true, provide a lot of insight into why Camilla and Meghan apparently had a falling out last year.
Whether you believe this incident from March of last year caused as big a stir as some sources claim probably depends on whose side you see it from—it could either have been a total accident on Meghan’s part, or a metaphorical slap in the face to Camilla.
According to The Mirror’s Royal Editor Russell Myers who reported on it at the time, Camilla Parker Bowles and Meghan Markle fell out in March of 2020, because of what happened when Camilla gave a highly publicized speech on domestic violence. Apparently the rest of the royals were told to observe a social media silence during Camilla’s speech, in which she would announce the social media campaign #everyonesproblem to support domestic abuse survivors. But Meghan posted pictures from the National Theatre at the same time Camilla was speaking:
A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal)
A photo posted by on
Camilla reportedly took the pictures as a personal slight, and Myers quoted one unnamed source who said, "Of course it was known Harry and Meghan would be doing engagements this week, some privately, but everyone was in agreement that Camilla’s speech should take precedence. Unfortunately some people had other ideas.” This event apparently caused a rift between the two women around the same time Harry and Prince Charles were facing serious tension, so the drama was coming from both sides.
Meghan's post could have totally been an accident, since she was at her own event that day and clearly wanted to give the National Theatre some attention—and how much is the timing of her posts really even up to her? But then again, there was reportedly already bad blood between Harry and Prince Charles at that point, so maybe it was less accidental than it appears.
Either way, whether the event was a key reason for the fall out that eventually sent Harry and Meghan to California, or just another microaggression in a line of many, we don’t know just yet.
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