Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's Silence On Philip's Memorial Was 'Pointed Snub,' Expert Claims

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are aware that their decision not to comment on Prince Philip's memorial service after skipping the event could be seen as "rude," a royal biographer has claimed.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's absence from the Service of Thanksgiving held in honor of the late Duke of Edinburgh, who died in April 2021 at age 99, at Westminster Abbey Tuesday was expected as a spokesperson for the couple announced earlier this month that they would not be "returning to the U.K. in late March." However, Prince Harry and Markle also opted against releasing a statement or a tribute to the duke's grandfather to mark the day.

Ingrid Seward, author of "Prince Philip Revealed," weighed in on Prince Harry and Markle's actions, or lack thereof, on the day of the memorial service, saying she believes their silence speaks volumes.

"The wall of silence was as loud as if they had shouted from the abbey rafters. The normally verbose duke and duchess of Sussex said nothing," she told The Mirror. "No spokesperson spewed out long sentences of undecipherable wordage. There were no flowers with the florists' names proudly displayed. No comments from Archwell. Nothing. Not even a word from their supporters on various social media accounts."

After Prince Philip's death on April 9 last year, Prince Harry posted a heartfelt tribute to his grandfather on his Archewell website, describing him as "master of the barbecue, legend of banter and cheeky right 'til the end."

Seward also criticized Prince Harry's decision to skip the family event, pointing out that he offered no reason as to why he chose not to attend the service.

The royal expert claimed it was a "missed opportunity" on Prince Harry's part that he did not bring his wife and their children, Archie, 2, and Lilibet, 9 months, to join the royal family, their European cousins and his son's contemporaries at the memorial service.

Seward also said she believes that the Sussexes' appearance would not have overshadowed the event or diverted attention away from Queen Elizabeth.

"It was her day and no one could take that away from her, not even her favorite son the Duke of York who guided her to her seat," the royal author said of the monarch and her controversial decision to have her disgraced second son Prince Andrew escort her to the service.

"The only explanation is that neither one of them wanted to go. There would have been no security problems. The whole Abbey was bristling with secret service men to guard the biggest gathering of royalty, politicians and top army brass since the London wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge," Seward claimed.

"Harry must have known it would look petulant and rude," she suggested. "And if he did not, Meghan would have. It was a pointed snub to the whole royal family, and it went sour."

While Prince Harry has received criticism from some royal experts and commentators over his absence from the service, royal fans and social media users came to the duke's defense.

"Prince Harry has NOTHING to regret in missing Prince Philip's memorial service. Remembering his grandfather isn't a public right!" Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, author of "This Is Why I Resist," tweeted. "He attended [the] FUNERAL! Stop making up crap about Harry and Meghan. Be mad at why the royal family chose [the] dishonorable Prince Andrew as [the] Queen's companion today."

One Sussex fan wrote, "Harry was at the funeral, and he can observe the memorial however he wants. Is the service for Harry or the family? They keep talking [about] how unimportant he is to the family [and] yet [have] panic attacks whenever he doesn't join the family."

Prince Harry is currently in a legal battle with the U.K.'s Home Office after his armed bodyguards were removed when he quit royal duties and the royal felt it was too dangerous to bring his family to his home country without proper police protection in place.

A legal representative for Prince Harry said the Sussexes fund a "private security team," but their own security "cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed" while in the U.K.