‘Ridiculous’: Meghan Markle responds to claims about her absence at King’s coronation

Meghan Markle has responded to claims she rejected an invitation to King Charles’s coronation over “ a grudge”, saying she is “going about her life”.

The Duchess of Sussex wrote to King Charles III about unconscious bias against her, explaining that a member of the royal household had speculated about the colour of her unborn son’s skin.

It is understood that Meghan Markle sent the letter after her damning interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 when she felt she did not get an adequate answer from the palace to her concerns over alleged racism within The Firm.

He is understood to be the only senior member of the Royal Family to contact the former actress after the interview.

The report by the UK Daily Telegraph came just days after Buckingham Palace announced the Duchess of Sussex would skip King Charles’ May 6 coronation, but Harry would be attending alone.

While Meghan no longer holds “a grudge” over the prejudice incident, the paper reported it played a factor in her choice to bail on the May 6 Coronation — which she vehemently denied on Saturday.

“The Duchess of Sussex is going about her life in the present, not thinking about correspondence from two years ago related to conversations from four years ago. Any suggestion otherwise is false and frankly ridiculous,” Markle’s camp said in a statement to the NY Post.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex talks with Britain's Prince Charles, at Westminster Abbey in London on March 11, 2019, before they left the UK. Picture: AFP

According to the Telegraph the King wrote conveying “his sadness” over the gulf that emerged between the two sides of the Royal Family and his disappointment that the Sussexes felt the need to make such high-profile and damaging allegations.

In the interview, the Duchess told Winfrey that there had been “concerns and conversations about how dark his [Archie’s] skin might be when he’s born”.

Prince Charles kisses Meghan Markle on her wedding day. Picture: Netflix

Source claimed that the letters make clear the identity of the senior member of the family who allegedly made the comment.

“The two of them have exchanged warm correspondence, it’s understood, they are talking at least and this has thawed relations between them and precipitated Harry’s decision to come to the coronation,” royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliam said.

“She feels concerned that the bullying complaints against her mishandled and still feels let down by the way the institution handled her, which, she says, led her to contemplate suicide.

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leave Westminster Hall, London after the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II was brought to the hall to lie in state ahead of her funeral. Picture: Getty

“And the invitation to the coronation didn’t invite their children Lilibet and Archie, so that upset the Duke and Duchess of Sussex but the King explained they were too young and it wasn’t a personal rejection.”

It is understood that both the King and the Duchess agreed that the person’s remark was not made with malice.

The Duchess is believed to have thanked the King for his words. The Duchess’s letter also said she meant to point the finger at the individual but was making the point about unconscious bias generally.

Originally published as ‘Ridiculous’: Meghan Markle responds to claims about her absence at King’s coronation