Just a few days ago, Meghan Markle admitted that she was not okay. Yet even she let her vulnerability show after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. For the first time, she disclosed that the distance from her young children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, was nearly three weeks. Geraldine went on to explain that period as acutely difficult. Through it all, Markle and her husband, Prince Harry, gracefully ducked and weaved to avoid unnecessary public appearances. All the while, they wrestled with the crushing load of their mourning and caretaker duties.
The couple touched down in the UK on September 3 2022. They took a long enough trip that allowed them to do a little more—visiting multiple charities. Their calendar was completely upended the moment the announcement came out that Queen Elizabeth II had passed away on September 8. This coincided perfectly with their preparations to attend the WellChild Awards in London. In the week that followed, Markle and Harry jumped into an impressive series of engagements. They featured at the One World Summit in Manchester on September 5 th and the Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023 on September 6 th .
Markle remained in the UK through the state funeral on September 19. Through all of this, she was beginning to feel the emotional weight of being away from their children for 17 days. This separation represented the most time they had been away from Archie and Lilibet.
The most time I’ve ever spent away from our children was nearly three weeks. I was…(pauses) not doing well,” Markle remarked, while making clear the toll that separation took.
Prince Harry shared these sentiments in his memoir, Spare, calling the days following the Queen’s death “challenging.” He talked about the profound emotional ties he and Meghan share with their kids. “For days and days we couldn’t stop hugging the children, couldn’t let them out of our sight,” he stated.
Even in Markle’s richly bittersweet period of mourning, it seemed restorative for her to be in a position to express what’s evocative about her home life. We love that she brought out her kids’ favorite colors, personalities and their morning routines.
Markle’s favorite thing to cook is fried eggs and pancakes. Her favorite trick is to surprise the children by sneaking ground flaxseed or chia seeds into the pancake batter. She explained that when Princess Lilibet orders her pancakes, she asks for chia seeds so they can have “freckles.”
Markle shared that she really loves to present the food in a really appealing way to her kids. “One thing I do with my kids, that takes a bit more time, I like the presentation of food for them,” she said. Prince Archie definitely loves his mama’s homemade meals. He shows his appreciation as she takes the lid off the pot with, “Oh mama, that beautiful,” meaning that beauty comes in the form of one of her special meals.
