Meghan Markle Was 'Unwilling' To Meet Trump In UK; Has Own 'Political Ambitions,' Royal Expert Claims
Meghan Markle is not a fan of Donald Trump and was "unwilling" to meet the former president during his visits to the U.K., a royal expert has claimed.
Former royal correspondent Michael Cole made the claims while discussing Trump's recent criticism of Prince Harry and the Biden administration's handling of the Duke of Sussex's U.S. visa application.
Speaking to GB News host Martin Daubney, Cole claimed that Trump was a longtime "admirer" of the late Queen Elizabeth II and felt that Prince Harry and Markle have been "disrespectful" toward the royal family since their royal exit and move to California in 2020.
However, the royal commentator claimed there was a "political element" to Trump's dislike of the Sussexes.
According to Cole, Markle reportedly has made "no secret" that she does not support the current GOP frontrunner and likely did not vote for him in the 2020 election.
Trump reportedly learned Markle did not want to meet with him during his official visits to the U.K. when he was president.
"It got through to President Trump that when he was making official visits to the U.K., she was saying she was unwilling to meet him," Cole claimed.
The former royal correspondent suggested that Markle "may have political ambitions of her own, either on a state basis in California or maybe even nationally."
"That is yet to come," he added.
In an interview on "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore" in 2016, a year before she got engaged with Prince Harry, Markle slammed Trump and his presidential run, calling him "misogynistic" and "divisive."
The former "Suits" star also expressed support for Hillary Clinton and said she would move to Canada if Trump won the presidency.
Asked about Markle's negative comments ahead of his June 2019 state visit to the U.K., Trump told The Sun: "I didn't know that she was nasty."
However, the then-president added that he felt Markle would "do excellently" as a member of the British royal family.
At the time, multiple outlets reported that while her husband Prince Harry, brother-in-law Prince William, and his wife Princess Kate were expected to meet with Trump during his three-day visit, Markle skipped the affair.
The duchess was on maternity leave at the time, having just given birth to Prince Archie.
Markle and Prince Harry were on a holiday break and not in attendance when Trump and his wife Melania returned to Buckingham Palace in December 2019, People reported.
In recent years, Trump has voiced his criticism of Prince Harry and Markle in a number of appearances.
The former president told British TV host Piers Morgan in 2022 that he was "not a fan of Meghan" and that Prince Harry was "whipped."
During a chat with conservative U.K. politician Nigel Farage in May last year, Trump described Markle as "very disrespectful" to Queen Elizabeth and said he was "surprised" Prince Harry had been invited to King Charles III's coronation.
On Saturday, Trump also slammed Prince Harry over his "unforgivable" betrayal of his late grandmother and said he would not protect the royal if he is reelected.
"I wouldn't protect him. He betrayed the Queen. That's unforgivable. He would be on his own if it was down to me," the former president told Daily Express U.S. "I think they have been too gracious to him after what he has done."
Trump was referring to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denying conservative think tank Heritage Foundation's request to make Prince Harry's visa application public following the royal's revelation of his past drug use in his 2023 book, "Spare."
Heritage Foundation filed a lawsuit over the records, claiming that U.S. law "generally renders such a person inadmissible for entry" to the country.
However, DHS lawyer John Bardo said during a hearing Friday that Prince Harry's book was not "sworn testimony or proof" that he took drugs.
