London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jan 17, 2026

Queen 'understands' why pregnant Meghan can't come to Prince Philip's funeral

Queen 'understands' why pregnant Meghan can't come to Prince Philip's funeral

The Queen ‘understands’ why pregnant Meghan Markle can’t travel to the UK to attend Prince Philip’s funeral, a source has said.

The Duchess of Sussex is said to have been in touch with Her Majesty to pass on her condolences after being advised not to travel by her doctor.

Prince Harry has already flown home and is believed to be isolating at Frogmore Cottage, the couple’s former home in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

A California source told PEOPLE it was ‘always a given’ the duke would return to England following his grandfather’s passing.

They said both Harry and Meghan ‘were in contact with the Queen’, adding: ‘Meghan expressed condolences. The Queen understands why she can’t travel at the moment.’

Harry’s return to the UK comes after a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in which he and Meghan accused an unidentified member of the Royal Family of ‘raising concerns’ about how dark their son Archie’s skin might be when he’s born.

Oprah later clarified these comments did not come from Prince Philip or the Queen.

The duchess also accused ‘the firm’ of refusing to help when she told them she was having suicidal thoughts.

Buckingham Palace said the whole family was ‘saddened’ by the ‘serious allegations’ which will ‘be addressed by the family privately’ – although added that ‘recollections may vary’.

Another source recently claimed Meghan ‘didn’t want to be the centre of attention’ at the funeral amid the family drama.

Meghan Markle’s doctor has advised her not to travel, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said on Saturday


Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, joined by her mother Doria Ragland, show their new son to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle


They told MailOnline: ‘Meghan said her main concern right now is supporting Harry. She said she left it up to him as to whether or not she would attend the funeral.

‘Meghan said it’s during these times when family should come together, put their differences aside and unite as one. She said this is what Prince Philip would want and that she’s willing to forgive and move forward.’

Tributes have flooded in for the Duke of Edinburgh since he died ‘peacefully’ at Windsor Castle on Friday morning.

The Duke of Cambridge has described him as an ‘extraordinary man part of an extraordinary generation’.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry said he was a man of service and honour – as well as a ‘legend of banter’.

The Queen carried out her first official in-person royal duty after the death of her husband yesterday.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Prince Harry Returns to UK High Court as Final Privacy Trial Against Daily Mail Publisher Begins
Britain Confronts a Billion-Pound Wind Energy Paradox Amid Grid Constraints
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
The Return of the Hands: Why the AI Age Is Rewriting the Meaning of “Real Work”
UK PM Kier Scammer Ridicules Tories With "Kamasutra"
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
United Kingdom and Norway Endorse NATO’s ‘Arctic Sentry’ Mission Including Greenland
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
Meghan Markle Could Return to the UK for the First Time in Nearly Four Years If Security Is Secured
Meghan Markle Likely to Return to UK Only if Harry Secures Official Security Cover
UAE Restricts Funding for Emiratis to Study in UK Amid Fears Over Muslim Brotherhood Influence
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks to Safeguard Long-Term Agreement Stability
Starmer’s Push to Rally Support for Action Against Elon Musk’s X Faces Setback as Canada Shuns Ban
UK Free School Meals Expansion Faces Political and Budgetary Delays
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Prince Harry Seeks King Charles’ Support to Open Invictus Games on UK Return
Washington Holds Back as Britain and France Signal Willingness to Deploy Troops in Postwar Ukraine
Elon Musk Accuses UK Government of Suppressing Free Speech as X Faces Potential Ban Over AI-Generated Content
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
×