Meghan Markle decided to opt out of attending the coronation of King Charles to "protect her peace", says royal expert and co-author of Finding Freedom, Omid Scobie.
The Duchess of Sussex, 41, will not be at the historic occasion at Westminster Abbey on 6 May, although ithas been confirmedthat her husbandPrince Harrywill be there.
Meghan has instead chosen to stay at home inMontecito, California, where she will celebrate the birthday of their eldest child Archie, who turns four on the same day as the Coronation.
Now Omid, 41, who authored the book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, has claimed that this decision was made as Meghan has decided to focus on "protecting her peace"
Appearing on This Morning, Omid discussed Meghan's decision to remain in the US, telling hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby: "People around the Sussexes guided press at the time that this is very much about Archie's fourth birthday.
"I disagree with that to some extent because I also know from friends of hers that she's protecting her peace as well. She is aware of how much the spotlight goes on her when she sets a foot near the story."
"I think a lot of that is often portrayed as intentional or that she wants to steal the spotlight But in this case should she have simply come over and stood next to her husband I would think the narrative or commentary on the day would be very different."
He also suggested that some members of the royal family may be relieved that she won't be attending as public attention now won't be diverted towards her.
The news that the Duke of Sussex, 38, would be going to the monumental event without the Duchess put an end to months of ‘will they/won’t they’ speculation over the pair’s attendance.
Discussing Meghan's decision to not attend, a close friend of the Duchess told People: "Meghan wants to be there to support her father-in-law, but at the same time, the scrutiny she receives outweighs the support.
"There's always going to be that other side challenging their reasoning, and who wants to put themselves in that position?"
The friend added: "At this point, it's become so personal. Maybe what they wanted wasn't achieved, but at the end of the day, he's going there to support his dad."
Relations between the Sussexes and the Royal Family have been strained since the couple decided to step back from senior royal duties in 2020.
Harry and Meghan went on to give a bombshell interview to Oprah Winfrey in 2021, which was followed up at the end of last year with their controversial Netflix documentary.
Tensions were then heightened further at the start of this year with the release of Harry’s memoir, Spare, which was highly critical to aspects of the royal family, leading to a period of silence between the Sussexes and other royals.
According to reports, Harry and the King, 74, had a 'heart to heart' conversation before the Duke accepted the invitation to the Coronation.
The pair reportedly ended months of no contact to discuss the big day, with sources claiming there was a “willingness and wanting to mend on both sides”.
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