THE Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, is understood to be staying in London and will not travel to Balmoral in Scotland with Prince Harry after what has been described as a late 'change of plan'.
A spokesperson from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, said the couple would be travelling to Scotland together, following news of Queen Elizabeth's ailing condition, but conflicting reports emerged in the following hours indicating that Meghan would not be going to Balmoral after all.
According to Nicholas Witchell, the BBC's royal correspondent, Markle may have stayed away from Balmoral over fears she would not be 'warmly welcomed'.
'She might not be terribly warmly welcomed, to be perfectly candid about it', it was reported he said on air.
The Queen's death was confirmed by the Royal Family at 6.30pm local time yesterday, with Buckingham Palace stating that she had passed 'peacefully' at Balmoral that afternoon.
Prince Harry is believed to have arrived at the royal estate shortly after the announcement.
The announcement came at 1.38pm – an hour after the Royal Family announced doctors were 'concerned' about The Queen's wellbeing.
However around 4.30pm, sources close to the couple told journalists that Meghan would not be travelling with Prince Harry to Balmoral, and it was then confirmed by Omid Scobie – a journalist who is deemed to be 'friendly' towards the couple.
Mr Scobie then took to Twitter to make a comparison with the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton.
Kate would be remaining in Windsor as announced earlier with children George, Charlotte, and Louis, who were attending their first day at their new school.
While The Press Association (PA), the UK's leading national news agency, announced in a news alert at 4.39pm that the Duchess of Sussex would not be travelling with Prince Harry to Balmoral following what was described as a 'change of plan'.
It was not clear what the 'change of plan' was, and whether the Duchess of Sussex was told to stay away by the royal family or had chosen to stay away, like the Duchess of Cambridge.
Following the news, Harry and Meghan's Archewell website homepage has become a blacked-out landing page with the words: 'In loving memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 1926-2022.'
The Duke will be expected to attend the queen's funeral, where Meghan will also likely be joining him.
Markle missed Prince Philip's funeral in 2021, while heavily pregnant with daughter Princess Lilibet.
Both Harry and Meghan had not been expected to see any other members of the royal family during their visit from California this week.
The last time the couple saw the queen was in June at the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, where they introduced her to their daughter Lilibet, named in honour of Her Majesty's childhood nickname. – The Vibes, September 9, 2022
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