Meghan Markle's social media post featuring her children at Althorp has ignited fury from Queen Camilla, but this reaction is precisely what the Sussexes anticipated, according to royal commentator Chris Riches.
Visit and the Silent Agreement
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made their second UK visit as a family of four last month, ostensibly to promote the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham. Despite months of security wrangling, Meghan and the children were never seen in public, and there was a tacit agreement to keep royal aspects of the visit discreet.
The couple kept their word by not mentioning their meeting with King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House. However, the silence broke when Meghan shared summer holiday snaps, including a photo of Archie and Lilibet carrying bouquets through the grounds of Althorp, Princess Diana's ancestral home, where they likely visited her grave.
The Reaction and the Breach
Prince William was reportedly fuming, with insiders claiming he saw it as crossing a line by including a deeply personal family visit in a public post. Queen Camilla and Earl Spencer were also reportedly annoyed and disappointed.
The Queen, present when Charles was reunited with his grandchildren for the first time in four years, was "very clear" that the couple should not share anything online about their trip, a source told New Idea. "Camilla's words appear to have fallen on deaf ears," they said. "She feels that she was clear about no social media posts, and if Meghan thinks Althorp was an exception, she was very wrong."
The condition was primarily intended to keep the reunion private for Archie and Lilibet, but Meghan breaching it could mean "the door would remain shut for her forever."
A Calculated Power Play
Chris Riches argues that Harry and Meghan are not daft. This was no accident. There was a reason behind potentially causing a response they could 100% see happening from that post. It was calculated.
"I think there is a bigger power play here than any of us first realised. Camilla and Charles laid down some UK return ground rules, and once back in the US, the Sussexes have broken them," Riches writes. "They are saying: 'Just a gentle reminder, you are not completely in control of what we do.'"
This arrogance has overshadowed much of what Harry and Meghan have done regarding the Royal Family since Megxit, and it means the Royal Family simply can never trust them. Charles and Camilla may still want to convince the Sussexes to visit their tent once in a while, but they will be watching their backs much more carefully now.
