Meghan Markle’s friends face backlash for Prince Philip funeral coverage

Gayle King and Omid Scobie, two of Meghan Markle's closest media friends, helped lead the country's coverage of Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday, branding it a “sad day” for the Duchess of Sussex.

Gayle King, the anchor of CBS' coverage of the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral, predicted that the family's “differences” will be “set aside for the day.”

It was “no secret” that Prince Harry and William's relationship was strained, King said.

“William and Harry, there's no secret about this, have had a strained relationship, you could say, since Harry stepped away from his royal duties,” she told viewers after running through the line-up of the funeral procession.

She went on to say that there was “family drama” that the rest of the world will be talking about.

The Duke of Sussex walked separately from his brother at the solemn service, the first time the two had seen each other in over a year.

Gayle King, the host of CBS This Morning and a close friend of Meghan and Harry's, hosted a special report for US television, while Omid Scobie broadcast live from Windsor Castle.

“This is a family who is grieving,” King said, before speculating that Prince Harry and William had “put aside family differences” for today.

“For the first time we saw William and Harry and their cousin, Peter Phillips, in the middle,” she said as members of the Royal Family walked behind Philip's coffin.

“For many people this is the first time they've seen Harry in over a year. What do you think the significance of that is ?

“Listen, a lot has been made about what's going on between William and Harry, but at the end of the day, this is a family who is grieving.

“I would suspect that all the family differences would be set aside on this particular day.”

Harry moved feet apart from William after the funeral procession, with Peter Phillips in between them, as they processed behind the coffin.

Peter retreated slightly to encourage the brothers to keep ahead of him.

As the coffin was softly laid to rest in the church, Harry stood behind William, solemnly.

On Saturday, the brothers were reunited at the funeral of their patriarch, Prince Philip, where body language analysts claimed they had a “moment of reconciliation.”

Scobie, Meghan's friend, who was in charge of ABC's coverage of Prince Philip's funeral, chose to emphasize Meghan's emotions. Thanks to her pregnancy, Meghan was unable to attend the funeral. Scobie was criticised for focusing on Meghan Markle rather than Prince Philip's life and memories.

Scobie, the author of ‘Finding Freedom,' was in London at the time and said, “Although Meghan isn't here, she is, of course, supporting Harry. Her mind is very much on the situation over here. We know that she's supporting Harry in this very difficult week for him, but she'll also be sad because this is also the loss of a family member for her .”

He said, “She grew very close to the queen and Prince Philip over the recent years. It was probably her strongest relationship within the family and those relations then get smaller this week. It'll be a sad day for her.”

Both King and Scobie received a lot of backlash on social media.

“Pathetic ⁦@GayleKing Today is not about William, Harry & Meghan. This is why I stopped watching ⁦@CBSThisMorning Your celebrity obsession is unbecoming. ⁦@TODAYshow ⁦@GMA all awful”

“Really Gayle King & Omid Scobie? Even on one the saddest days for the @RoyalFamily you just can't help yourself can you? Having to talk about ‘Family Drama' and ‘Meghan.' Please let the mouse go for just 1 day! PLEASE!! #GayleKing #OmidScobie #RoyalFamily #PrincePhilip”

“Not helped by this US gaggle of gossipers who can't even keep quiet during the funeral.”

“Couldn't they not leave it for one day n let the poor man to b laid to rest in peace”

“Meghan's minions to the rescue! Omid on how Meghan is feeling- “she is grieving because” ‘she has also lost a family member'. M Is really trying to milk this funeral.”