Meghan Markle Denies Letters With Charles Are Why She’ll Miss Coronation

Not so fast. Meghan Markle is denying rumors that letters she reportedly exchanged with King Charles III are why she will miss his coronation.

Ashley Hansen, global press secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, denounced claims that Meghan, 41, is not attending King Charles’ coronation over their written exchanges.

“The Duchess of Sussex is going about her life in the present, not thinking about correspondence from two years ago related to conversations from four years ago,” the Sussexes’ rep said in a statement to Harper’s Bazaar on Saturday, April 22. “Any suggestion otherwise is false and frankly ridiculous.”

The denial came one day after The Telegraph reported that the Suits star exchanged letters with the then-Prince of Wales about her and Prince Harry‘s March 2021 interview on CBS. In the bombshell chat, the couple discussed a royal family member raising concerns while Meghan was pregnant about “how dark” son Archie’s skin would be, but they refused to publicly name the person.

After the interview aired, according to The Telegraph, the California native exchanged correspondence with her father-in-law about the incident that was referenced.

“The Duchess is believed to have thanked the King for his words,” the Telegraph reports. “The Duchess’s letter is also said to suggest that she had never intended to specifically accuse the individual involved of being a racist, but was raising concerns about unconscious bias.”

The letter allegedly named the individual who made the remark about skin tone, but the now-monarch and duchess allegedly agreed in the letters that the comment was “an innocent observation.”

The Telegraph alleged that the correspondence as well as the lack of involvement in the coronation ceremony factored into the Bench author’s decision not to attend the May 6 event.

Harry, 38, will attend King Charles’ coronation solo on May 6. Meanwhile, Meghan — who also shares daughter Lilibet, 22 months, with her husband — will be home to celebrate Archie‘s 4th birthday in Montecito. A source told Us Weekly his birthday was the reason she decided to skip the U.K. trip.

“As much as Meghan appreciates the invite to the coronation, she wouldn’t miss her son’s birthday for the world,” an insider exclusively told Us earlier this month. “Despite being the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan is a mom first.”

Another insider revealed that while Charles is being crowned at Westminster Abbey, Archie will be having an intimate celebration with loved ones.

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“Meghan is planning something really low-key to celebrate Archie’s birthday,” another source exclusively told Us earlier this month. “Since Harry won’t be able to attend, she just wants to do something intimate with family and a few very close friends.”