Making progress? Following Queen Elizabeth II‘s funeral, Gayle King shared her perspective on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s future relationship with the rest of the royal family.
“There have been efforts on both sides to sort of make this right,” King, 67, claimed during an interview with Extra on Monday, September 19. “We shall see.”
The host noted that it “remains to be seen” whether Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, will be able to mend the rift. “Are they going to be drawn closer together or are they going to be drawn apart?” she continued. “I have no idea. I have no inside information on that, but I will tell you this: It was good to see Harry standing with his family.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made headlines in 2020 when they announced their plans to step away from their roles in the royal family. One year later, they confirmed that the decision was made permanent and moved to California ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Following conversations with the duke, the queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of the royal family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service,” Buckingham Palace wrote in a statement in February 2021. “The honorary military appointments and royal patronages held by the duke and duchess will therefore be returned to Her Majesty before being redistributed among working members of the royal family.”
The couple, who exchanged vows in 2018, opened up about the shocking shake-up in a tell-all interview. “I was trapped but I didn’t know I was trapped,” Harry said in March 2021. “Trapped within the system like the rest of the family. My father and my brother are trapped. They don’t get to leave and I have huge compassion for that.”
Meghan, for her part, candidly discussed how the British press affected her mental health. “I just didn’t see a solution. I would sit up at night, and I was just, like, I don’t understand how all of this is being churned out,” the Suits alum, who shares son Archie, 3, and daughter Lilibet, 15 months, with her husband, said at the time. “I realized that it was all happening just because I was breathing. I was really ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry, especially, because I know how much loss he’s suffered.”
Amid professional engagements in the U.K., Harry and Meghan joined the royal family in mourning following the late monarch’s death on September 8 at age 96. During their visit, King Charles III noted during the first address after his ascension that he wished for his youngest son to “continue to build” his life with Meghan in California.
Charles, 73, later seemingly disinvited Harry and Meghan from a reception with world leaders on Sunday, September 18.
“A Palace spokesperson has reiterated this morning that Sunday’s state reception is ‘for working royals only.’ No further comment or guidance on why the Sussexes were invited (and now seemingly uninvited),” royal reporter Omid Scobie tweeted after the twosome were not in attendance at the event hosted by the former Duke of Cornwall.
