Why Meghan Markle Wasn’t at the Royal Meeting With Queen Elizabeth II

On Monday, Prince Harry met with Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Prince William in an effort to hammer out details relating to Harry and Meghan Markle‘s upcoming change in royal duties after the couple announced that they would be stepping back as senior members of the royal family. Markle was not in attendance at the meeting, as she was in Canada.

Harry, Markle and their son, Archie, had spent the holidays on Vancouver Island in Canada, returning to the U.K. this month to visit Canada House in London. They reportedly left Archie with Markle’s good friend Jessica Mulroney and a nanny, and the Duchess of Sussex has since returned to the country to be with her son amid her and Harry’s announcement.

Royal reporter Omid Scobie tweeted on Tuesday that despite reports that Markle had been called into meeting, “the Sussexes decided that it wasn’t necessary” for the duchess to join the meeting.

After the family meeting, the Queen released a statement expressing her support for Harry and Markle.

“Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family,” the statement began. “My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family. Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.”

“Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives,” the monarch continued. “It has therefore been agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will spend time in Canada and the UK. These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days.”

A source told E! News that Markle returned to Canada to the home she and Harry had stayed in during the holidays and that she is “laying low.”

“She mostly stays home but ventures out around mid-day just to get out,” the source said, adding that on these occasions, the mom of one drives a Range Rover with her security following close behind her. The source also speculated that Markle’s mom, Doria Ragland, has joined her,

“She has gone for a drive around town and to pick up someone at the airport that looked like her mom,” they said.

Photo Credit: Getty / Max Mumby/Indigo