Why Kate Middleton and Camilla weren't at the 'Sandringham Summit'
When Queen Elizabeth called an emergency meeting to address Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to quit their royal roles, there were some key members of the British Royal Family not invited.
Kate Middleton and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall were both notably absent from the crisis meeting, dubbed the 'Sandringham Summit', which was held at the Queen's winter home in the north east of England on Monday.
However, this was nothing to do with their rank or roles in the monarchy, a royal rift, or because they're women — the explanation is much simpler than that.
Kate Middleton and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall were both notably absent from the Queen's royal crisis meeting yesterday, dubbed the 'Sandringham Summit' Getty
When Her Majesty called the meeting, it was for all four heads of households — Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, Kensington Palace, Sussex Royal — therefore no spouses attended the meeting, including Prince Philip.
The Duke of Edinburgh was seen driving away from the property before the 2pm summit took place.
One spouse initially reported to have part of the conversation, was Meghan.
It would make sense if the Duchess of Sussex had dialled in for part of the conference, given it's about her future and their plans for quitting the UK to live in Canada while taking on a "progressive new role within this institution".
Prince Philip also did not attend the summit, as it was only for heads of the households, not spouses (Picture: December 2019) AAP
However, new reports suggest the Royal Family decided not to have Meghan call through.
Hello! magazine's royal correspondent, Emily Nash, has quoted royal sources confirming Meghan was not part of the talks.
The Sun's royal correspondent, Emily Andrews, shared similar details after first confirming Meghan had been on the phone.
"'In the end, The Sussexes decided that it wasn't necessary for The Duchess to join [the summit]." But we understand Harry was in contact with his wife while at Sandringham, to keep her in the loop," Andrews tweeted.
How did Prince Harry become a pivotal player in shaking up a thousand-year-old monarchy? And what does his marriage to Meghan Markle mean for one of the world's oldest dynasties? Listen to 9Honey's royal podcast, The Windsors:
According to Daily Mail Meghan hadn't called through to the Castle over fears of surveillance equipment being used to listen in.
"This was a highly confidential family discussion, not a conference call," the publication quoted a palace insider.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex was first believed to have called through for the meeting but Palace sources now claim that didn't happen and Prince Harry kept his wife in the loop instead AP
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