Today is the third anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death. As such, the British tabloids have all been doing “remember when” pieces, almost all of which are centered on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Over the weekend and as I’m writing this, this remember-when piece is the top story of the Daily Mail’s Royal section. It’s surprisingly not about QEII’s death but about Prince Philip’s passing in 2021. Philip died on April 9, 2021. His funeral was held on April 17th. Prince Harry traveled solo to the funeral, because Meghan was pregnant with Lili. Lili was born on June 4th – if you do the math, no doctor would have signed off on Meghan flying long-haul internationally with only six weeks left. But watch how that racist old coot Tom Bower framed the story:

As was his wish, Prince Philip’s funeral was a ‘minimal fuss’ ceremony. He didn’t want an eulogy or an elaborate state funeral; ‘He doesn’t see himself as important enough for that,’ an aide once said of the Duke of Edinburgh. The funeral – Operation Forth Bridge – was scaled back even further due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with just 30 mourners, primarily family members, in attendance.

Biographer Tom Bower paints a solemn picture of the days surrounding the funeral in April 2021 in his book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and the War Between the Windsors. He wrote: ‘The mood in London was sombre. Daily, the media extolled Philip’s remarkable life and devotion to the country. The Duke had planned a simple funeral at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. The rehearsals displayed faultless military drill. Few would not be touched by the perfection of British ceremonial tradition. The weather was forecast to be perfect. The only uncertainty was the relationship between Harry and his family.’

Philip’s death on April 9 came just a month after the Sussexes’ explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, during which the couple made racism accusations against an unknown member of the Royal Family. The Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral was planned for April 17 and Bower wrote: ‘Neither the Palace nor the media understood the Sussexes’ mindset when Harry arrived in London just before the service. How would he cope with his father and brother? Meghan had cited her seven-month pregnancy as the reason for not travelling. In Windsor Castle, the Queen was preparing to face the public on one of the saddest days of her life. Philip had been her rock for the previous 70 years. To comply with Covid restrictions, she would grieve alone inside the chapel.’

She is reported to have said to her senior aides: ‘Thank goodness Meghan is not coming.’

‘There was no mistaking the Queen’s dislike for the disruptive actress,’ wrote Bower.

[From The Daily Mail]

They just love making QEII sound like a huge a–hole, right? And they continue to use QEII in death to rewrite everything around the Sussexes. It’s all part of the larger narrative where Meghan was scapegoated for every single f–king thing, even when she was just sitting at home pregnant. Anyway, I remember the funeral and I was so glad that Meghan wasn’t there. I also remember that no one said a f–king thing about Kate turning the funeral into her Keen Mourning photoshoot, nor did anyone blink an eye when all of the post-funeral press was about Kate’s keen peacemaking.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Instar.