It was five years ago today that an unprecendented emergency meeting saw senior royals summoned to Sandringham by the late Queen. Just days earlier in January 2020, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle made the shock announcement that they were quitting down as senior royals, less than two years after their wedding. Their decision led to a gathering between the former monarch, then-Prince Charles, Prince William and Harry, dubbed the 'Sandringham Summit'.
But surprisingly Meghan did not take part, even though it concerned her future. Instead, 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. 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.".
Later in their Netflix series in 2022, Meghan revealed 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.' And Harry added: "It was clear to me that they planned out so that you weren't in the room.".
