eghan Markle is bypassing Britain, leaving Prince Harry to attend an Invictus Games anniversary service in London alone on May 8, but she will join her husband for a visit to Nigeria later this month, it has been announced.
The reason for the duchess’ planned absence from the Invictus service, which will take place at St. Paul’s Cathedral, has not been given. However, as a new episode of Newsweek‘s The Royal Report podcast has discussed, her complex relationship with the U.K. and prospect of leaving her children are likely factors that have been taken into consideration. Newsweek approached representatives of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle via email for comment.
The last time Meghan visited Britain publicly was in September 2022 at the time of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and prior to that was in the summer of the same year for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
“The centerpiece of this visit is a service of Thanksgiving for Invictus at St. Paul’s Cathedral,” chief royal correspondent, Jack Royston, told Royal Report listeners of Harry’s incoming trip.
“Now the last time Meghan went there, Meghan and Harry were booed by royalists. That was during Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. There were cheers as well, but there were certainly boos, and that was during a similar service of Thanksgiving.”
Noting that the duchess may wish to avoid a repeat of such a reception, Royston said that, by contrast, she is guaranteed a warmer reception in Nigeria, where the duke and duchess have accepted an invitation to visit, again connected with the Invictus Games.
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“By contrast, Meghan will obviously get a very positive welcome in Nigeria,” Royston said. “So, she may simply be choosing guaranteed good PR over the possibility of another moment of hubris at the hands of monarchists who don’t really like her very much.
“Meghan has generally been a great supporter of Invictus,” he added. “She’s continued to attend the tournaments, and also not just the actual games themselves, but the ‘one year to go’ promotional events, too. So, why not this one in Britain, especially since it’s a whole program marking the 10-year anniversary? It’s a long time until it’s going to be the 20-year anniversary. You’d think that she would want to be there.”
The answer to this, Royston said, is likely to be linked to a number of reasons, from a desire to protect her personal peace to family and security concerns.
“It could genuinely be as simple as the fact that Britain probably holds some pretty difficult memories for her,” Royston added. “She obviously didn’t enjoy her time working for the monarchy and she also has had a really hard time with the British press, to put it mildly. I kind of do understand why she might just look at the whole situation and think, ‘Well, you didn’t exactly show me lots of love. So why should I show you lots of love?’
“Also, on a more emotional front,” he added, “going away for long periods of time is difficult as a parent, because you have to leave your kids behind.
“Presumably, it’s not impossible, I suppose, that they could take Archie and Lilibet with them, but they may not want to… Harry and Meghan don’t have guaranteed police protection in Britain anymore, so they may simply feel that the country isn’t safe for the whole family.”
Harry’s legal battle to have his full-time, government-funded bodyguards, which he lost when he stepped down as a working member of the royal family in 2020, is ongoing.
Earlier this year, a judge ruled that the government body that made the decision to remove his security did so legally. The prince is appealing the judgment.
When he visits Britain, Harry is afforded security by the government, but it is on a case-by-case basis and will vary, depending on the reason for his visit.
No dates for the duke and duchess’ visit to Nigeria have yet been confirmed. During their time in the country, they are expected to take part in cultural activities and events connected with the Invictus Games, which Nigeria first competed in as a nation in 2023.
