Did Meghan Markle Blackmail King Charles During UK Visit?

Meghan Markle has never been a favorite of the British media. And that’s an understatement. Basically, from the moment she and Prince Harry got engaged, the narrative about her has been mostly negative. And in the past few days, after it was revealed that she, Harry, and their kids met with King Charles, the headlines became even more negative.

After suggestions that Harry and Meghan were using their kids to gain leverage on Charles, Closer reports that Markle was left shocked by the “cruel” accusation. One never really gets used to these kinds of reports, after all.

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“To her this is about as low as it gets,” an insider said. “To have people tearing her down and making hurtful and untrue claims is bad enough but to drag her children into it is just beyond the pale. They are going to grow up and potentially read all this poison someday, so it boggles her mind that people could be so cruel.”

And that’s not all: “What makes it a thousand times worse is that she’s sure that a lot of this ugly narrative is being sanctioned, or even pushed, by people behind the palace walls, that truly sickens her.”

“She can’t believe anyone would seriously suggest she and Harry are using Archie and Lilibet to blackmail the King to get what they want. As far as Meghan’s concerned, that’s twisted thinking and completely beneath her.”

The reporting on the trip seemed to change by the minute. First, the entire family was traveling, then they weren’t. Eventually, they all traveled to the UK and met with Charles, even if, reportedly, they had no police protection.

On The Royalist podcast, Tom Skyes said, “It felt to me like a really blatant attempt, and actually a really mean attempt, to kind of… emotionally blackmail Charles into intervening into the security decisions of the British state,” adding, “I’m told by good sources that actually, a lot of this is coming from Meghan.”

Meanwhile, ex Vanity Fair editor and royal expert Tina Brown said per Closer, “If Harry thought that bringing his children would force RAVEC’s hand, he was, as he is so often, hopelessly misguided.”

The problem for Harry and Meghan is that, even if they travel with their own security, only the Metropolitan Police Force can carry arms.

“The thing people don’t seem to understand is that, for Meghan and Harry, this has never been about getting special treatment, it’s about the safety of their children and nothing else,” a source said. “She and Harry genuinely believe that any parents in their position would make exactly the same decisions if they felt there was even the slightest risk.”

This all comes after Hollywood insider Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice reported from sources that, despite the meeting, what Markle really wanted was a photograph. “The meeting was valuable, but the photograph was the prize,” a source said, adding, “Meghan understands the power of imagery better than almost anyone. A single picture with the King would have reminded the world that she and Harry are still royalty. That’s branding gold.”

“If Buckingham Palace wanted the world to see this as a reconciliation, there would have been a picture,” another source told the outlet. “The fact there wasn’t tells you everything you need to know.”

The meeting was described as private; therefore, no pictures were released. No pictures were released when Harry met with his father last year, either.