An official schedule for the upcoming Trump state visit to the U.K. has been released. Amongst the three-day schedule for President Trump and his family, you’ll find royal lunches, exhibitions, and London landmark tours. You won’t find Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, however.
During the trip, currently scheduled to take place in early June, Queen Elizabeth II will host Trump, his wife Melania, and their children, and Her Majesty will be supported by a selection of senior royals for the duration. Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall will be in attendance for the official ceremonial welcome, held in Buckingham Palace’s garden.
Later, a private palace lunch will see Prince Harry join the guest list, and a private tea in the same afternoon will also be held with Prince William and Kate Middleton. But, while three quarters of the fab four are confirmed for the occasion, Meghan Markle will notably not be in attendance alongside her husband.
The most obvious reason for this would be that the Duchess of Sussex is currently enjoying the peace and privacy of maternity leave with new son Archie Harrison, who will be less than four weeks old when the state visit takes place.
However, before joining the royal family, proudly feminist Meghan made her stance on Trump clear during a 2016 television interview, describing his politics as “misogynistic” and “divisive”. She also spoke of her support for his presidential opponent at the time, Hillary Clinton.
Appearing on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore three years ago, Meghan said: “It’s really the moment I go; we film Suits in Toronto and I might just stay in Canada... Trump is divisive, think about female voters alone, right? I think it was in 2012, the Republican Party lost the female vote by 12 points; that is a huge number and with as misogynistic as Trump is, and so vocal about it...Trump has made it easy to see that you don't really want that kind of world that he’s painting.”
Whether it’s down to baby logistics or her own personal beliefs, the Duchess of Sussex definitely won’t be making an appearance. Nice timing, Archie.
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