Six years ago today, the infamous ‘Sandringham Summit’ took place as senior members of the Firm were summoned by the late Queen to discuss Harry and Meghan’s exit from the Royal Family
Six years ago today, senior members of the Firm were summoned to Sandringham by the late Queen Elizabeth to discuss the bombshell announcement made by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle that they would be quitting their royal duties.
On January 13 2020, the late monarch, the then-Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry gathered at the Norfolk estate, with the meeting being dubbed the ‘Sandringham Summit’, to discuss how the Royal Family would move forward after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s bombshell statement. Despite the gravity of the situation, Meghan Markle was not present at the meeting for one major reason.
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Harry flew back to Britain from Canada alone with Meghan left some 5,000 miles away on Vancouver Island, where the couple had spent Christmas with Prince Archie and Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland.
At the time, it was reported that the Sussexes decided that it “wasn’t necessary for the duchess to join” via telephone. But according to the Daily Mail’s Richard Kay, there was a specific reason as to why there was no open line to Meghan in Canada.
He said: “According to palace officials, such an idea was rejected because no one knew for sure who else might have been listening in. This was a highly confidential family discussion, not a conference call,’ says one insider.”
The Sussexes opened up about the Sandringham Summit in their 2022 Netflix docuseries, as Meghan spoke of her outrage at not being at the meeting. She explained: “Imagine a conversation, a roundtable discussion about the future of your life. When the stakes are this high.
“And you as the mom and the wife and the target, in many regards, aren’t invited to have a seat at the table.” Harry then added: “It was clear to me that they planned out so that you weren’t in the room.”
The meeting at Sandringham took place just three days after Harry and Meghan’s bombshell announcement. There were just four people in attendance, as the late Prince Philip decided not to take part.
He had quietly left the house before Harry’s arrival, as royal expert Richard Kay explained at the time: “Just how strategic this departure was, was not immediately clear. But the fact he left more than an hour and a half before the Duke of Sussex arrived was seen as significant. At 98, he no longer lays down the law as he once did and some courtiers wonder if this was his way of saying ‘this is not my fight’.
“It may also be that by making himself absent he could not be drawn into a situation where the mantra which governed his attitude to royal life – ‘you are either in the family or out’ – was being tested by Harry and Meghan’s wish to be part-time royals.”
Following the summit, the late Queen Elizabeth issued a highly personal message to explain the changes in the Royal Family to the public. The statement read: “Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family. My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family.
“Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family. Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives. It has therefore been agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the UK.”
She concluded: “These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days.”
Source: Mirror
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