Prince Harry 'hung back' during Trump's visit to Buckingham Palace amid 'nasty' comment about wife Meghan Markle
Following President Trump calling his wife, Meghan Markle "nasty", Prince Harry seemed to keep his distance during the Trump family's visit to Buckingham Palace on Monday.
During an interview with The Sun, the president was asked about Meghan's comments from a 2016 interview in which she called the then-presidential candidate "divisive" and "misogynistic", which he had never heard about before.
"I didn't know that," he reportedly said. "What can I say? I didn't know that she was nasty."
Trump has since denied multiple times that he called the Duchess of Sussex nasty, saying that the controversy was "made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold!" Regardless, the situation that boiled up over the weekend definitely didn't make Harry's planned appearance on Monday alongside Trump and his family easy.
Before a private lunch with Donald, Melania, Ivanka, Jared and members of the royal family that included Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla, the group walked into the picture gallery, where Her Majesty pointed out various artefacts, including the Declaration of Independence.
Harry accompanied Ivanka into the room before attending the lunch, but quickly "drifted off to talk to the Lord Chamberlain" as the rest of the guests mingled about as photographers took pictures. Harry can be seen in the background of photos doing just that, as reporters noted that he "noticeably hung back" from the action.
Though Harry did attend the lunch, reporters were barred from being in the room for the private meal and no details have been released about what went on inside. Meghan was expectedly absent from all of the festivities, as she continues her maternity leave to care for her one-month-old, Archie Harrison.
This is the only official engagement that Harry is scheduled to attend during the Trumps' state visit, as he's not expected to go to a planned dinner on Monday evening, where Prince William and Kate Middleton will be seen with the Trump family.
Royal expert Victoria Arbiter made a guess as to why Harry was involved at all in the affairs: "I would suggest that Harry's inclusion in the Trump lunch tomorrow is more a courtesy to [Melania Trump] to thank her for leading the US [Invictus Games] team to Toronto in 2017. Ultimately he's there to support his grandmother but the royals' job is to lay on the very best show & display of hospitality. MT led the US team to Toronto so now she's on H's turf it's a way to return the gesture."
The Invictus Games were founded by Harry to celebrate wounded veterans, and the 2017 edition in Toronto is where he and Meghan made their official debut as a couple.
