This year, the Duchess of Sussex has seemingly made a huge effort, especially following the official launch of her As Ever lifestyle brand, to upstage her father-in-law, King Charles, when he is undertaking official royal events.
After scheduling her Confessions of a Female Founder podcast launch to coincide with Charles and Queen Camilla’s diplomatic tour to Italy in April, Meghan, 43, swamped the headlines last week, when she shared a controversial maternity suite twerking video with her 3.7 million Instagram followers, at the same time as Charles’ 400th anniversary of the Queen’s Chapel celebration.
“Charles was steaming mad about it, but what can he do?” a palace insider tells New Idea.
“The last thing he wants is to give these Sussex ‘distractions’ any more attention than they’re getting, but even he’s shocked at how petty it is.
“Everyone knows how precious Charles can be about getting his message across – Harry knows this, and Meghan knows it too. This does seem intentional because it’s become a clear pattern over time.”
Meghan was scheduled to speak at a glitzy event in Los Angeles on June 14 – the same day as Trooping the Colour in London, which is one of the most important annual events on the royal calendar.
The Night of Wonder gala was going to honour Meghan for “advancing community wellbeing and expanding opportunity for underserved communities”, but was postponed due to the recent civil unrest in Los Angeles.
“Meghan’s incredibly disappointed by the delay,” our source says. “But it left the way clear for Charles – and the extended royal family – to fully have their moment at Trooping.”
