Prince Harry's absence from Meghan's show was a 'deliberate' choice

Those hoping to see Prince Harry join his wife in the kitchen during her lifestyle show With Love, Meghan have been left sorely disappointed.

The Duke of Sussex was missing throughout Season 2 of the show, which returned on Tuesday.

Instead, the Duchess of Sussex made references to "my husband" across nearly every episode and shared a handful of previously-unseen photos of Prince Harry.

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That's despite there being several opportunities where Prince Harry could have popped up, making his absence even more strange.

In episode two, Meghan was joined by Chrissy Teigen who arrived at the rented Montecito farmhouse with her husband John Legend.

"Oh, I would have told H to come" Meghan said as they walked into the kitchen.

His appearance was short-lived, though, as he quickly went back the way he came. Viewers were under the impression Legend had gone elsewhere, only for him to pop back into the kitchen a few scenes later when Teigen called out to him.

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A scene with Legend and Prince Harry having drinks outside near the barbeque would have been fitting here.

Episode one saw Meghan invite her makeup artist and friend Daniel Martin over along with David Chang and Christina Tosi and briefly describes the hang out as a "double date".

And in episode five, the duchess invites husband and wife team Jay Shetty and Radhi Devlukia for dinner but hosts them alone.

Prince Harry is included via references only, with Meghan revealing a number of his likes and dislikes.

"Do you know who doesn't like lobster," she asks Spanish American chef José Andrés in the final episode.

"My husband."

He replies: "And you married him?"

In episode four, she tells food writer Samin Nosrat that Prince Harry does not like cinnamon.

The duchess was savvy enough to share new details of her and Harry's lives that had previously been kept closely guarded, including photos from their evening wedding reception and what guests ate.

Harry briefly appeared in this episode with Clare Smyth, who catered the royal wedding, seen fleetingly in a photo taken of him, Meghan and Smyth at the farmhouse where the show was filmed. So, he was there, on set, but chose not to be actually in the episode, in person.

And there was a photo of Harry in a tent during their camping trip to Botswana.

In episode three Queer Eye's Tan France asked Meghan who first said 'I love you'.

"Did you tell him first or did he tell you?" France asks the duchess.

She replies: "He told me".

In episode seven, Meghan showed off a baseball cap she had made for Prince Harry's 40th birthday last year, that were given to his friends, which were emblazoned with 'PH40' in white stitching.

Prince Harry's decision to stay out of With Love, Meghan was a deliberate one, of course.

In Season 1, he had made a cameo in the final episode only – joining Meghan as she hosted a garden party brunch celebrating the show.

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"Whenever Harry visited set, he was always super polite and friendly," a crew member told People in March.

"But it was clear he wanted this to be Meghan's moment to shine."

In that same interview, Meghan also explained why Season 1 and Season 2 were not filmed inside their mansion nearby. Both were filmed concurrently, last year.

"I wanted to protect that safe haven," the duchess said.

"We're a close-knit family, and I love those moments – putting Lili down for a nap, having lunch together, having sacred time together at the end of the day," Meghan told People.

"Our kitchen is where Mama just cooks for the family, and with a crew of 80-plus people, that's a lot of people to have in your house."

It's unclear when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be seen together in public again but Prince Harry is due to return to the UK in late September.

He is set to attend the WellChild Awards – a charity he's been patron of since 2007 and one of a few patronages he was able to retain after stepping back as a senior working royal in 2020.

Prince Harry is also expected to carry out a number of other, yet to be announced, charity events.

It's unlikely Meghan will accompany Harry back to London after the UK's High Court ruled he would not have his government-funded police protection reinstated.

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