Meghan Markle hasn’t seen her father-in-law, King Charles III, in over three years- but that hasn’t stopped the monarch from keeping a deeply sentimental reminder of her inside his London residence.
On Thursday, the 44-year-old Duchess of Sussex made a surprise cameo at Clarence House via a poignant black-and-white photograph positioned front and centre in the King and Queen’s living room.
The framed image captures the moment Charles walked Meghan down the aisle during her 2018 wedding to 41-year-old Prince Harry.
Placed on a side table, the photo sits beside a second image of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex taken during the christening of seven-year-old Prince Louis.
The two pictures were shot just weeks apart, with Louis christened on July 9, 2018- seven weeks after Meghan and Harry’s May 19 wedding.
The photographs were spotted as Queen Camilla welcomed children supported by Helen & Douglas House and the Roald Dahl Charity to Clarence House for a Christmas tea party and tree-decorating event.
“The festive tradition is now in its 20th year and brings together families for a truly memorable day,” Buckingham Palace said as it released footage of the celebration.
According to royal reporter Richard Eden, the Meghan photobomb was no accident.
He claims the display is linked to a deliberate palace effort aimed at slowly rebuilding ties with the Sussexes.
Titled “Project Thaw”, the plan aims to “warm up the Duke and Duchess’ frosty relationships with the rest of the Royal Family and with the British people,” Eden told the Mail UK on Friday.
The move coincides with Prince Harry’s recent breakthrough in his long-running security stoush with the British Home Office.
This week, it was revealed a new threat assessment has been ordered- the first since Harry stepped back as a working royal.
“My sources say the new risk assessment could result in taxpayer-funded police protection being restored to the Sussexes,” Eden said, adding that officials expect the family will “spend much more time in Britain than previously”.
Charles, now 77 and undergoing treatment for an undisclosed cancer, has reportedly long held an affection for Meghan, telling the press he was “thrilled” about the couple’s 2017 engagement.
However, tensions soon surfaced amid rumours of friction between Meghan and senior family members, including the late Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Catherine.
It was also reported that His Majesty had an issue with Meghan’s lavish “spending”.
In 2020, Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals and relocated to the Duchess’ native United States.
The couple now live in a $23 million Montecito mansion with their children, six-year-old Prince Archie and four-year-old Princess Lilibet.
Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet have not seen the King, nor any other of Harry’s family members, in person since the Queen’s funeral in 2022.
However, Harry has visited several times, the most recent being in September for a one-hour meeting with his father at Clarence House.
