Meghan Markle’s Embarrassing Situation Around Pippa Middleton’s Wedding, Explained

After a month full of royal drama and speculation, many admirers are looking back on Meghan Markle’s history with the royal family – including the infamous episode of Pippa Middleton’s wedding. Markle began dating Prince Harry in 2016, so the 2017 wedding was one of her first chances to make an impression on the monarchy. According to the book Finding Freedom by Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, things did not go according to plan at all.

Markle made headlines last month when she chose not to travel to England to attend the Coronation of King Charles III, but looking back on one of her first trips to England, it’s hard to blame her. In 2017 Markle accompanied Prince Harry to the wedding of Pippa Middleton, sister of Kate Middleton, and James Matthews – a British financial executive and former race car driver. The story has resurfaced over the last few weeks, and interestingly, it has some inverse qualities compared to the coronation. For starters, the bride and the bride’s mother reportedly did not want to invite Markle at all when they were planning the wedding.

The bride and her mother reportedly feared that if Markle attended the wedding, she and Prince Harry might “overshadow” the ceremony itself. Pippa is an ancillary royal at best, though she is Prince Harry’s sister-in-law. When Markle finally secured an invitation, insiders said she put “careful thought into her outfit,” but that didn’t stop the British press from generating controversy. They soon ran headlines implying that Markle had dressed to overshadow the bride.

The viral headline at the time reportedly read: “It’s Megan v Pippa in the… Wedding of the Rears,” implying that Markle’s figure would distract from the bride on her big day. It was printed alongside paparazzi photos of Markle wearing yoga pants in London that week as well as an infamous photo of Pippa at her older sister’s royal wedding. With just hours to go before the wedding, Markle and Prince Harry were reportedly reconsidering their debut as a couple.

“Harry and Meghan agreed that she couldn’t possibly turn up at the church, only 50 meters away from a specially arranged media pen, after such a crass cover story,” reads the book. Instead, Markle left to spend the day at a secluded rental property while Prince Harry attended the wedding ceremony alone. Finally, she met back up with the prince after lunch to attend the wedding reception together. Even then, they had an awkward night seated apart from each other, as Pippa had reportedly wanted her guests to commingle as much as possible.

Scobie and Durand’s book has all kinds of anecdotes about Markle and Prince Harry’s early days and all the minutia of their foray into royal life. It is available now in print and digital formats wherever books are sold.