Moments where Meghan Markle was almost entirely blocked by a giant candle during the broadcast of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral have some viewers convinced that her seat in the pews of Westminster Abbey was an intentional snub.
People watching the BBC’s coverage of the service on Monday noticed that the Duchess of Sussex’s face, which was already partially shielded by her wide-brimmed hat, was almost entirely obscured by a thick yellow church candle.
Markle was singing a hymn while standing between her husband, Prince Harry, and his cousin Princess Beatrice in the second row behind King Charles III and other senior members of the royal family, including the very tall Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, Princess Anne’s spouse.
The ill-framed camera shot quickly went viral and set tongues wagging on Twitter.
“I don’t want to be a conspiracy theorist but that candle is totally blocking the view of Meghan,” one commenter opined.
Another quipped: “Hiding Meghan Markle behind a massive candle was a genius call. #QueensFuneral.”
Some observers have suggested that having Prince Harry and his wife seated in the second row was a deliberate indignity on the part of the funeral’s organizers amid the couple’s public falling-out with the family following their move to California and their explosive sit-down with Oprah Winfrey.
Harry, who has quit his role as a working royal, was denied the right to wear his military uniform during the funeral.
“I think the spot was chosen to make H&M incredibly difficult to see,” one Twitter user wrote. “The one camera shot that’s high and close enough to view them has a massive a– candle in the middle of it that completely obscures Meghan. No way that wasn’t deliberate.”
Prince Harry’s brother, William, sat in the front row with his wife, Kate, and their two eldest children, George and Charlotte, with the church aisle separating the two estranged siblings.
A palace source told The Post that the seating arrangements for the Queen’s grandchildren were done by age, beginning with the oldest, Princess Anne’s son Peter, 44, and daughter Zara, 41, who were seated in the front row, despite not being working royals.
Harry and Meghan were given front-row seats facing the coffin during the Queen’s committal service at St. George’s Chapel later in the day.
There have also been speculations that Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, took a subtle dig at Harry and Meghan when he declared during his funeral sermon, while seemingly staring directly at the couple: “Leaders of loving service are still rarer. But in all cases, those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are forgotten.”
