Why Meghan and Kate were kept separate for Westminster journey

There’s a reason Meghan Markle didn’t travel with her sister-in-law in the procession transporting the Queen’s coffin to Westminster.

There’s a reason why Meghan Markle wasn’t in the same car as her sister-in-law overnight.

Royal rankings forced the Duchess of Sussex to take a separate vehicle from Kate Middleton in the procession transporting Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.

Meghan, 41, rode in the same car as Prince Edward’s wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, while Kate, 40, travelled with Queen Consort Camilla because she is now the Princess of Wales and married to Prince William, the first in line to the throne after King Charles III’s ascension last week, Page Six reports..

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Camilla and Kate arrived in one car … Picture: Carl De Souza/AFP

… Meghan in another. Picture: Arthur Edwards – WPA Pool/Getty Images

The women arrived in separate cars while Charles, William, Prince Harry, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward all walked behind the Queen’s casket.

Despite their rocky relationship, William, 40, and Harry, 37, walked next to each other, which recalled their positions when their mother, Princess Diana, died in 1997.

Royal guards carried the coffin and carefully placed it where the public will be able to pay their respects until the Queen’s funeral next Monday.

The two royal couples put on a more united front once inside. Picture: Darren Fletcher – WPA Pool/Getty

After a brief ceremony, the royal family left. William and Kate exited Westminster as a couple, while Harry and Meghan did the same – while stirring up controversy over their slight showing of PDA.

The Fab Four reunited after the Queen died on September 8 at the age of 96. William extended an invitation to his estranged brother and sister-in-law on Saturday to walk around Windsor Castle, greet mourners and take in the view of tributes laid around the gates.

Kate and Meghan inside Westminster. Picture: WPA Pool/Getty

“We are all very grateful – both sides putting all things aside for the Queen,” a royal source told Page Six at the time.

Harry and Meghan caused a divide in the royal family after they infamously quit their royal duties in January 2020 and moved to California.

The Duke of Sussex has occasionally returned to his homeland – including to attend his grandfather Prince Philip’s funeral last year, where William asked not to walk by his younger brother’s side.

Meghan and Kate have also sparked feud rumours over the years, most notably when Meghan claimed Kate made her cry before her 2018 wedding.

This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission