Meghan Markle Probably Declined to Stay With Prince Charles

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last updated 21 January 2022

Prince Charles reportedly invited Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to stay with him when they're next in the U.K.

According to royal expert Angela Levin (who previously spoke to Marie Claire ahead of the Duchess of Cambridge's 40th birthday), if the Prince of Wales invited his youngest son and his wife to stay with him, it will have been Markle who declined.

"Of course when you are married your partner has a say in it all and I don’t believe Meghan ever wants to come back here," Levin explained to The Sun.

"She would find it very difficult to stay with Prince Charles and the duchess [of Cornwall] because I think she would be quite awkward about it all."

It had been widely assumed that the Sussex couple would cross the Atlantic with their children Archie and Lilibet for Prince Philip's memorial in the spring, but the lack of security being offered to them has put a damper on those plans. The Sussexes have also been expected to make the trip over for the Queen's Jubilee celebrations in June of this year.

Relations between Prince Charles and Prince Harry have been reportedly tense in recent months, especially following the Sussexes' February 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, but the heir to the throne extended an olive branch in the form of a name-check in a recent Newsweek essay.

Levin went on to praise Prince Charles for trying to smooth things over and invite Prince Harry and Meghan Markle over. "I think Prince Charles loves Harry and he’s been devastated by his behaviour—he’s making a hugely important offer, you'd think he could feel resentful but he's not going down that route.

"He’s trying to encourage Harry into the royal fold not necessarily into the Royal Family but into being good friends."

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.