In his first Commonwealth Day as head this year, King Charles described the day as one of particular pride for his mother, the late Queen. But at the traditional Abbey service back in 2020, tensions reportedly ran high after Harry and Meghan were told they would not be in the Queen’s procession.
Cornwall Live reported that as their last engagement as working members of the royal family, the Sussex’s were told they would sit with the congregation and that they were left “upset and emotional” by the decision. Reports said that the Prince and Princess of Wales tried to step in and save the day by offering to join Harry and Meghan and skip the procession, it's alleged.
Harry and Meghan were expected to work with the 54 nations in the Commonwealth during their lifetime. But the couple was stripped by the late Queen of their positions as president and vice-president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust after they stepped down as royals.
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While William and Kate were among the senior royals to attend this year’s service at Westminster Abbey with King Charles, Harry and Meghan did not appear. The 2020 service was the first time the Sussex’s came face to face with members of the royal family after announcing their plans to step down.
Harry and Meghan arrived first on that day and sat in the second row, failing to stand to greet the Prince and Princess of Wales when they arrived. Kate and Meghan were seen to only exchange a few words as they waited for Charles to arrive. There was a brief exchange of hellos, but the atmosphere appeared to be tense and reserved.
Royal expert, Tom Bower claimed in his book ‘Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors’ that there was a right royal row after ‘Palace officials….decided to publicly humiliate [Harry and Meghan]. He wrote that on the 9th March “a monumental argument blew up after Harry was told he and Meghan could not join the family procession through Westminster Abbey for the annual Commonwealth Day Service.
"Although the order of service listed Harry and Meghan walking behind the Queen, Palace officials had revised their decision. Suspicious about the Sussexes they decided to publicly humiliate them.
"Harry was told that having stepped down from royal duties, he and Meghan would sit and wait with the congregation. The prospect of the televised image of their isolation in the Abbey appalled them.
"By then they were keenly aware of Kate and William's antagonism. William had not offered a brotherly welcome and Kate was outright distant towards her sister-in-law. Eventually, to end the dispute, William and Kate agreed they too would wait with Harry and Meghan. As the members of the Royal Family filed into the Abbey, the frayed relationships could not be concealed.
"Kate had blanked the Sussexes and William’s greeting was cold. Harry looked strained. Meghan's face showed bemusement."
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When Harry was interviewed for the couple’s controversial Netflix series, Harry said he had felt anxious seeing other members of the royal family. He described it as: “We were nervous seeing the family because all the TV cameras and everybody watching at home and everybody watching the audience. It’s like living through a soap opera where everybody else views you as entertainment.”
He went on to say he felt distant from his family, adding : “So much of how they operate is about what it looks like, rather than what it feels like. And it looked cold. But it also felt cold.
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