Queen Elizabeth II’s Funeral: Seating Choices Spark Discussion

Millions of people tuned in to watch the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, which was filled with heart-wrenching moments as the royal family grieved the loss of their matriarch.

With 28 million viewers in the UK and 11.4 million viewers in the US, the broadcast led to a discussion of some of the choices made during the proceedings, particularly involving Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

On Palace Confidential, Richard Eden, the outlet's diary editor, talked about Meghan and Harry's eyebrow-raising seating.

“‘There I was, watching the coverage on television and you couldn't see Meghan,' Eden said.

“‘There was this really tall candle right in front of the view of the camera.'

By coincidence, Harry and Meghan seemed to be seated behind the tallest member of the royal family, Tim Lawrence, Princess Anne's husband.

Now, that could be a coincidence, but as we know, everything was planned meticulously.”

In addition, the evening before the funeral, the Sussexes were disinvited from a large state reception for world leaders.

The invitation was a mistake as the event was intended only for working royals.

“‘They have done everything as best they could,' a source told the outlet.

“‘They have turned up, they have smiled, shaken hands, whatever was asked.'

However, it seems that recently Meghan and Harry have been airing their grievances about these snubs.”

Writing in the New York Daily News, Richard Johnson cited reports from friends of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, that the couple is complaining they were snubbed and mistreated at Queen Elizabeth's funeral.

Johnson added that they both whined that the family wasn't as welcoming as they should have been.

Responding to this report, royal biographer Angela Levin again showed how much she dislikes Meghan.

“Are Harry and Meghan marking the royals out of 10 for how warmly they should have welcomed them?

Levin commented, per the News International.

The funeral was about the Queen, not them.

Endless moaning.”

According to the Daily Mail, another author, Lord Geoffrey Archer, says Harry will air his grievances by adding an extra chapter to his upcoming memoir.

“‘I fear for the book,' Archer said.

“‘I know they're writing the chapter on the funeral, so I suppose that's what the book will end on.'”

Previously, royal expert Kinsey Schofield noted that Harry's memoir publisher had the most to fear from its big investment.

Express reports that Penguin Random House has paid the duke £17.5m in a deal totalling £35m.

It will give him a chance to address those stories about him being offended by not being able to wear his uniform and then not having the ER letters on his epaulettes, Richard Eden told Palace Confidential.

Eden noted this could delay publication until spring 2023.

Royal experts have put forth various possibilities regarding the royal family's seating chart at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.

Andrew Pearce, the Daily Mail's consultant editor, said on the Daily Mail's Palace Confidential, “They couldn't have expected to be in the front row surely.

They've walked away from the royal family.

So they can't possibly expect to do a bit of pick and mix here and put one foot in and one foot out when it suits them.”

Also on Palace Confidential, journalist Richard Eden hypothesized that Princess Anne's children, Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, were seated in the front because they are older than Prince Harry.

While Eden said, “I'm not sure that the seating was by age,” a source at Buckingham Palace confirmed this theory.

“The order was approximately age order but trying not to split families up,” the source told the Daily Beast.

Although Peter and Zara were never working royals, they were seated ahead of Harry due to their age.

Royal historian Gareth Russell offered a more positive take on Harry and Meghan's positioning at the funeral.

“If you know what the etiquette is, it actually is a place of honour,” Russell told Us Weekly.

“To be the one behind the king is actually a sign of favour.