Biographer Tom Bower says Queen Elizabeth II reacted with relief when she learned Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, would not attend Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021, a detail that appears in his new book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and the War Between the Windsors.
Bower writes that the 94-year-old monarch told senior aides, "Thank goodness Meghan is not coming," as she prepared to face the public on one of the saddest days of her life. The photograph of the Queen sitting alone in St George’s Chapel during the service became one of the most widely circulated images from the latter years of her reign.
Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, died on April 9, 2021. His funeral was held on April 17 under the planning name Operation Forth Bridge and staged as a scaled-back, "minimal fuss" affair in line with his wishes and pandemic restrictions. Rehearsals and the service drew notice for their ceremonial precision; Covid-19 limits reduced attendance to about 30 mourners, primarily family members.
Bower recounts that the mood in London was sombre and that the principal uncertainty at the service was "the relationship between Harry and his family." The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had given an interview to Oprah Winfrey the month before in which they levelled racism-related accusations against an unnamed member of the royal family, and Meghan told aides she would not travel to the UK because she was seven months pregnant.
The diary of arrangements and seating highlighted the strain among senior royals. Robert Lacey, a royal author quoted in the book, is reported to have said that Peter Phillips was positioned between Prince William and Prince Harry to act as a "diplomatic buffer." Male royals wore morning suits, Lacey wrote, in part to avoid further embarrassment for Prince Andrew amid separate controversies.
Bower describes the brothers' first public appearance together in more than a year as tightly managed. William and Harry were seated opposite each other during the service and observed by aides and the media. The biographer wrote that some within the household watched closely for any sign of reconciliation, and that Charles left the chapel visibly upset.
Bower also describes private moments after the service. Angela Kelly, the Queen’s senior dresser, is quoted as saying she helped the monarch remove her coat and hat, after which the Queen went alone to her sitting room at Windsor Castle and closed the door. The book recalls that a handwritten note from the Queen to Philip was left beside a wreath chosen by her.
The book frames Harry’s presence as a continuing problem for the royal household. Bower writes that aides were concerned about material Harry was working on that would later appear in broadcast projects and which, he says, would widen the rift. Harry co-created a mental-health series with Oprah Winfrey, The Me You Can't See, released May 21, 2021, in which he discussed his relationship with his family and his concerns about returning to the UK.
Public reaction inside the family was described as mixed. Bower wrote that William appeared tense and Catherine, then the Duchess of Cambridge, "serene," while Charles showed clear anguish. Lacey is quoted saying William saw little point in substantive conversation with Harry, noting concerns that private remarks might be relayed through media contacts.
Later in 2021, Peter Phillips reflected publicly on the difficulty of not being able to hug the Queen, saying images of her alone at the funeral were relatable for many families who endured pandemic restrictions. He told reporters that the loss was made harder by limits on physical comfort but urged people to take positives from sad situations where possible.
Bower's account relies on interviews, palace insiders and contemporaneous reporting. The book presents a portrait of a family navigating public grief, pandemic constraints and deepening disputes that were already the subject of intense media attention following the Sussexes' departure from senior royal duties in 2020 and their interview with Winfrey.
Representatives for the royal household and for the Sussexes did not provide comment for the book's passages quoted in Bower's account beyond previously published statements. The image of the Queen alone at the chapel and the details of the service remain part of a widely documented public record of the April 2021 funeral.