King Charles the Cruel: Prince Harry Says Monarch Was 'Disrespectful' to Meghan Markle and 'Didn't Want Her' Near Queen Elizabeth's Deathbed

Meghan Markle was told to "stay away" from Balmoral Castle as Queen Elizabeth II was dying in September 2022, and it was believed to be because the sovereign only wanted immediate family members near her. Prince Harry wrote in his memoir Spare that his father, King Charles, was also "disrespectful" when mentioning his estranged daughter-in-law.

However, details in author Robert Hardman's book Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story revealed that this reason was not exactly the entire truth.

"When the plane started to descend, I saw my mobile phone light up. It was a message from Meg: 'Call me as soon as you read this.' I checked the BBC webpage. My grandmother had died. My father was the King. I put on a black tie, and stepped off the plane into heavy drizzle," Harry wrote in his autobiography.

There are also conflicting accounts of how the king-to-be, then-Prince Charles, twisted the truth to Harry when telling him that Meghan should not come to Balmoral that day.

Hardman recounts how royal sources shared with him that the king-to-be decided to tell his youngest son that Kate, the then-Duchess of Cambridge was being kept away from the ailing monarch's deathbed since the Queen did not want numerous people surrounding her.

The real truth was that Kate had told Charles she would stay behind in England to look after her children, while Prince William took an immediate flight to the Scottish Highlands. The soon-to-be monarch took the opportunity to twist this information to "prevent a feud" with Harry to show that it would be wise for Meghan to stay away as well since the monarch's other daughter-in-law was doing the same, the book suggests.

It is implied that nobody wanted the Duchess of Sussex at Balmoral Castle, and Kate's wish to remain behind now gave an easy out to ensure that happened smoothly.

Sources also told Hardman that "like the late Duke of Edinburgh, she [Queen Elizabeth] did not like a queue of family well-wishers flocking to her bedside when ill," which meant there was some small truth to what the Prince of Wales told the Duke of Sussex that morning.

Despite an excuse being given, small elements of drama were building in the background of Her Majesty's final moments on Earth, and all of this concerning Harry and Meghan.

After hanging up with his father, Harry called William to ask him about expedited travel arrangements to Ballater, Scotland, but later wrote in his memoir that he received no reply from his elder brother.

Hardman wrote about the incident by stating: "Clearly, Prince William did not regard this as the appropriate moment for the intensely difficult conversation he needed to have with his brother."

Live Mint reported on Harry's claims.