With the British royal family gathering to mourn Queen Elizabeth II, all eyes were on Meghan Markle as she shared a car ride with Sophie, Countess of Wessex during a procession of the queen’s coffin on Wednesday.
Since Prince Harry and Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, resigned from their royal duties in 2020 and Markle then criticized the royal family for allegedly mistreating her in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, rumors of a family feud have run rampant.
Markle and Sophie riding in the same car became a flashpoint because Sophie, the wife of the queen’s son Edward, was particularly close to Elizabeth and has been described as a “second daughter” to her, Fox News reported.
According to royal experts, Markle seemed to quake when she found out she would be riding with the countess.
“I am told Meghan almost buckled when informed she would be sharing a car with Sophie — after all, she had expected to drive in with her husband Prince Harry. But when he agreed to walk behind the coffin of the late queen all that changed, causing Meghan to have, some say, a slight ‘moment,’” Fox’s Neil Sean reported.
Sophie, who had years of professional experience in public relations before her royal life, is rumored to have chosen to ride with Markle to face the problems with her “head-on.”
There was no apparent conversation in the car.
“One can only assume what her thoughts were. After all, Sophie knows more than most, having spent years in PR previous to her royal life, just how demanding, distracting and downright self-centered faded queens of showbiz can be. But to say the car ride was like a trip on a roller coaster on Coney Island would be an understatement,” Sean added.
Markle was reportedly left “shaken” by the car ride.
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Two years after Harry and Markle stepped down from their royal duties, it doesn’t appear that Markle has gained any support in the meantime.
Earlier this year, before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned to the U.K. to join in the celebrations for the queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Newsweek reported that nearly half of British adults had a negative view of Markle.
“The Duchess of Sussex is liked by 26 percent and disliked by 47 percent giving her a net approval rating of -21,” the outlet reported.
With Markle’s latest appearances during the queen’s memorial ceremonies, Sean has not only relayed what he has heard from sources and other royal experts, but he has also heaped criticism on the former actress.
“Let’s not forget that it was indeed Ms. Markle who put herself into this dire PR position and then, without a shred of compassion, waltzed back to the family that she trashed on TV, all while reminding the public that she was ‘ready to forgive’ only last month with a strange yet compelling interview with the little read Cut magazine,” he wrote.
He also praised the Countess of Wessex for sticking to her duty, even if that duty is sharing a car ride with someone who has publicly bashed her family.
“What Meghan failed to realize is that the family she clearly loathes … stick together and Sophie has proven her devotion to the late queen in stepping up and sitting in the car with someone who, along with her husband, has achieved so much damage to our beloved late queen and her monarchy,” Sean wrote.
