While many observers are reading drama behind Meghan Markle‘s reported decision to stay in California when her husband Prince Harry visits his family this summer, the reason may be much simpler.
Finding Freedom author Omid Scobie said that all of their plans are “up in the air” because of COVID, but that it will likely just be “easier for the Duke to do the trip solo.”
Meghan will stay in Montecito with their son Archie. The pair have come under fire for stepping down from their senior royal duties, and some believe Harry is heading to England to appease critics.
Scobie claimed that Meghan and Harry are keeping Archie in touch with his grandmother the Queen through Zoom: “Archie loves being on Zoom calls with the family and the Queen has been enjoying those throughout lockdown.”
Meghan and Archie will be absent from several major events during Harry’s visit, likely including a celebration of the Queen’s birthday and the unveiling of Harry’s late mother Princess Diana’s statue.
Royal expert Nigel Cawthorne told the Mail that her absence will be seen as a “snub” and will cast a “dark shadow” on the celebrations.
POETRY
Meanwhile, the pair also showed up and surprised a group of poetry afficionados, Get Lit – Words Ignite, an L.A. based poetry curriculum taught at schools in the city. Mason Granger, the manager of community outreach for Get Lit – Words Ignite, shared a screenshot of the conversation on Instagram featuring the royal couple, and applauded their chemistry with the students.
“Soooo Prince Harry and Meghan dropped into my poetry class on Saturday and kicked it with the Get Lit Players for a multitude of minutes. My favorite part of it all was Meghan echoing so many sentiments we’ve talked about in class, about this particular moment in time/history to be a young person and the ripple effect of a single voice,” wrote Granger. “The root of them deciding to come is because at some point in their lives, they were moved by a poem. And whoever wrote that poem at some point thought to themselves, 'Does this even matter? Is anyone even listening?' And they shared it anyway.”