Did Meghan Markle decide not to attend the coronation because she was worried about the backlash?

Although it has been suggested that Meghan Markle decided not to attend the coronation on May 6 because it falls on the same day as Prince Archie’s fourth birthday, perhaps it was because she was concerned about the backlash she might receive? 

According to People, “Meghan wants to be there to support her father-in-law, but at the same time, the scrutiny she receives outweighs the support,” the close friend says.  The ‘friend’ then went on to say the following: “There’s always going to be that other side challenging the reasoning, and who wants to put themselves in that position?”

The ‘scrutiny’ is something that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle addressed in their Netflix docuseries. In Episode Two, Meghan revealed that her Toronto neighbours were reportedly paid by the press to plant a camera in her back garden. “They had paid certain neighbours to put a livestream camera into my backyard,” she revealed. “Suddenly it was like everything about my life was getting so much more insular. All the curtains were pulled, all the blinds were pulled. It was scary.”

It was not only Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who spoke in detail about the media scrutiny the couple have had to face in the docuseries, but Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland revealed her concerns for herself too. “I felt unsafe a lot. I can’t just walk my dogs. I can’t just go to work,” she said.

Meghan Markle’s decision not to attend the coronation might also be more about not wanting to detract from her father in law King Charles, rather than just concerns about a backlash against her. Without question, if Meghan Markle had decided to attend the coronation alongside her husband Prince Harry, the headlines would have been dominated by her rather than the monarch. 

Despite Meghan Markle’s missing out on the coronation, King Charles is considered to have handed an ‘olive branch’ to the couple by including a family portrait that features Meghan and Harry (alongside King Charles, Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton), in the official souvenir programme for the coronation of King Charles 111 and Queen Camilla.