Meghan Markle’s friend Omid Scobie said her mind was “very much in the situation here” and that she was saddened that “she had lost a family member,” while he led the ABC broadcast to the prince’s funeral. Philip on Saturday.
Meghan is pregnant and in California. She did not join Harry for his grandfather’s funeral, which comes a month after he demolished the royal family during an interview with Oprah.
Scobie, her friend who wrote the book Finding Freedom, was on ABC as a London correspondent.
Meghan’s other ally in the American media, Gayle King, led the cover of CBS’s funeral at the network’s Manhattan studio.
Scobie said, “Although Meghan is not here, she is, of course, supporting Harry … her mind is very focused on the situation here.”
Then he continued: “We know that supporting Harry in this very difficult week for him, but she will also be sad, because this is also the loss of a family member for her.
“She has grown up very close to the queen and Prince Philip in recent years. It was probably her strongest family relationship, and those relationships became smaller this week.
– It will be a sad day for her.
Scroll down for the video
Meghan Markle’s friend Omid Scobie said her mind was “very attentive to the situation here” and that she was saddened that “she had lost a family member,” while he led ABC’s coverage of Prince Philip’s funeral on Saturday
Gayle King, another friend of Meghan’s, ran CBS coverage.
She made no mention of Oprah’s devastating interview broadcast by her own network while Philip was in hospital, but said she suspected “family differences will be set aside for the day”.
“William and Harry, there is no secret in this regard, they have had a tense relationship that you could tell since Harry moved away from his royal duties.”
Then, during a conversation with former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown, she said there was “family drama” that people were speculating about.
“Do we read too much in body language? They did not stand shoulder to shoulder when their mother was buried. It was after the queen’s design, ‘she said.
Harry and William were following the Land Rover custom defender, who was carrying their grandfather’s body, but a few feet away.
King said Harry had been in quarantine until “this morning” after flying to Britain without his pregnant wife Meghan.
“A lot has been done … at the end of the day, this is a family that is sad. I would suspect that all the family differences will be put aside for that day ‘, she said.
She was hit by spectators who told her to “show a little respect”. Some said she was chosen to anchor the special report after the Oprah interview.
She also ran coverage of Prince Philip’s death last week, and the network dedicated three packages to her in their morning show, but none of them mentioned Meghan, Prince Harry or the accusations of racism they made against her family. in the interview.
CBS host Gayle King was in the network’s Manhattan studio and said he suspected family differences would be “set aside for the day.”
Spectators disapprove of Gayle King’s cover, calling it “disrespectful”
King is best friends with Oprah, visited Meghan in Windsor and attended her baby shower.
She no doubt had a hand in orchestrating the interview that sent waves of shock around the world and pierced the royal family at a time when Prince Philip was seriously ill in hospital.
King and her CBS co-hosts not only widely promoted the interview, but dissected it once it aired and said Meghan was “denigrated” and “oppressed.”
Scobie announced Harry’s personal tribute to Philip earlier this week, who called him a “beating legend” and said the funeral would be “the first steps” to repairing his relationship with William.
Royal agents “walk on eggshells” while trying to navigate the rupture, sources say.
King recently claimed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had a deal with CBS and ITV to postpone their interview with Oprah Winfrey if Prince Philip died.
Neither Gayle nor Omid mentioned any devastating interviews Harry and Meghan gave to Opera.
She has already started a line after revealing that the Sussex told her they had talks with Harry’s brother, Prince William and Father Charles, who were “not productive”.
Scobie is also known to be friends with Meghan, and last month he posted an email asking attendees to issue a statement claiming that Kate drove her to tears at a match for the young lady’s dress. of honor.
It turned out on Thursday that William and Harry would not stand shoulder to shoulder behind their grandfather’s coffin. Instead, it will be both sides of their cousin, Peter Phillips.
Insiders stressed that the arrangement should not be taken as a sign that the brothers refused to walk side by side.
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: “This is a funeral … we will not be drawn to those perceptions of drama. The arrangements have been agreed upon and reflect Her Majesty’s wishes.
Sources acknowledged, however, that the fraternal feud took “a lot of thought and energy” in the office of Lord Chamberlain, who is responsible for today’s arrangements.
“Everyone goes on eggshells so as not to exacerbate the situation,” said one.
“To be fair, both William and Harry have made it clear that they want to focus on their grandfather’s grief and do not want anything to stop them.
“But it made everyone doubly nervous to say anything that could be interpreted from a distance as being critical of the other party. It was a minefield.
Sources insist that the training of those who went behind the coffin was based on “genealogical lines and age.”
Prince Philip will be laid to rest today at a ceremony at Windsor Castle