What did Queen Elizabeth put a stop to so Harry and Meghan
wouldn't take her spotlight during the Platinum Jubilee celebration weekend?
And how did the ex-royal couple think their weekend went? Keep watching for the answers.
After months of preparation and tons of anticipation, Queen Elizabeth's Platinum
Jubilee celebrations seem to have gone remarkably well,
even with one of the biggest talking points surrounding the historic event being royal
defectors Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reuniting with the rest of the family.
The couple briefly visited the queen during a recent stopover on their way to the Netherlands,
and Harry caused a bit of a stir when he claimed during a "Today" int erview to
have a special relationship with his grandmother.
"She's always got a great sense of humor
with me. And I'm just making sure she's, you know, protected and got the right people around her."
Tensions were high going into the celebration weekend, but the BBC noted that the Sussexes
kept a low profile throughout. Their biographer and friend, Omid Scobie,
claimed during an appearance on "BBC Breakfast" that that was always the plan, saying,
"For them, being here is all about honoring and
really celebrating the life and legacy of the queen."
Although everything seems to have gone well,
the queen did reportedly have to put her foot down at one point. The Platinum Jubilee
celebration weekend marked the first time the proud great-grandmother met her namesake,
Lilibet, whose name was the queen's childhood nickname. It was widely believed that a photo of
the queen with Meghan and Harry's youngest might save the couple's relationship with the royals,
but none materialized. Now we know why. An insider informed The Sun,
"Harry and Meghan wanted their photographer to capture the moment Lilibet met the Queen
but they were told no chance. It was a private family meeting."
The queen was reportedly concerned any pictures that became public
would soon find their way onto news sites. Royal expert Daniela Elser wrote on News.com.au,
"The most obvious argument against releasing an image of Her Majesty
and Lili goes like this — if the Palace had released a shot of them together [...] it
would have blown all other Jubilee coverage out of the water and off the front pages."
In the run-up to the Jubilee celebration weekend, there were major concerns over how Prince Harry
and Meghan Markle's presence might overshadow the queen's big shindig celebrating her 70-year reign.
Experts fretted that the Sussexes could somehow make it all about them.
The Mirror noted that Meghan and Harry were banned from accompanying the queen
on the balcony at Buckingham Palace for Trooping the Colour
since they're no longer working royals. Royal expert Camilla Tominey told The Telegraph,
"You can include the Sussexes, but you don't want there to be some sort of
Harry and Meghan sideshow going on when the main event must be the queen. There
will be other members of the royal family who are still doing the daily grind who
will resent being overshadowed by Harry and Meghan even if they don't admit it."
According to the Daily Star, the couple promised that they had no
intention of overshadowing the queen and simply wanted to celebrate with her.
Despite concerns about focus being stolen and photo ops, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's
short sojourn to the U.K. appears to have gone reasonably well. As a source told Hollywood Life,
"Their trip was a whirlwind and jam-packed from
the moment they landed but it all went beautifully."
The source also added that, photo or not, the family's visit with the queen was a hit, saying:
"Archie and Lili totally charmed her. Getting to see her with them made the whole trip worth it."
Moreover, the source also said the Sussexes really enjoyed celebrating Lilibet's birthday in Harry's
homeland, even though Prince William and Kate Middleton couldn't make it due to commitments
elsewhere. According to The Sun, Lilibet's first birthday was a laid-back affair with a cake,
balloons, and all the typical trappings.
One thing that did spur a little controversy was Meghan and Harry's quick departure from the U.K.
According to the Daily Mail, the Sussexes departed for California
before the queen's final appearance on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.
They reportedly ditched the Platinum Party, too, opting instead to stay in
Windsor and watch the event alongside the queen herself. True to their word,
they spent most of the weekend staying out of the limelight at Frogmore Cottage.
The exit was entirely by design, as a source confirmed to People, explaining,
"They aren't part of the [working] royal family anymore, and that's a decision they
have taken — but maybe [the public] hasn't quite accepted that yet. Yes,
they were low-key. They paid their respects and went home."
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