Prince William gestures towards Meghan Markle in ‘poignant’ moment at Windsor Castle

The Sussexes and the Prince and Princess of Wales reunited while viewing floral tributes outside Windsor Castle

Meredith Clark
New York
Monday 12 September 2022 21:40 BST
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Prince William extends arm to Meghan Markle before meeting with mourners in Windsor

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William, Prince of Wales appeared to gesture towards Meghan Markle on Sunday in what many people have deemed as an olive branch.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reunited with the Prince and Princess of Wales as they viewed floral tributes, which were left in memory of Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle. It was the first time the “royal four” had been seen together since the National Service of Thanksgiving to mark the Queen’s jubilee in June.

In one now viral video, the royal couples are seen dressed in all black as they exit a car outside Windsor Castle. Prince Harry and Prince William go to shake the hand of one of the palace workers, while Princess Kate walks around the front of the car to shake his hand as well.

Meghan appears to be standing back from the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, until Prince William gestures his arm out towards her. She then walks forward and also shakes the worker’s hand. Prince Harry, who was standing on the far left next to his sister-in-law, moves closer to his wife and sweetly puts his hand on her back before making their way to the Cambridge Gate.

The clip has received more than 938k views on Twitter, where social media users were moved by Prince William’s gesture towards Meghan.

“Notice with the hand gesture that Will at least tried to give the appearance to include Meghan,” one user pointed out.

“It’s actually very poignant to see Harry, William, Meghan and Kate together. And it jumps out at you how poor Meghan is trying to not do the slightest thing which will prompt nasty headlines,” another user wrote. “This has actually brought a tear to my eye.”

“I like how Meghan held back. She does not need to be accused of doing something she hasn’t done. Plus the way Harry reached for her is heartwarming,” a third person said.

Rumours of a reported fued between the two couples have circulated since before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from their roles as senior members of the royal family in 2020. According to a royal source, Prince William extended the invitation to Prince Harry to appear publicly together as he believed it was “an important show of unity at an incredibly difficult time for the family”.

Royal experts have praised William’s gesture to Harry as an “olive branch”, but are uncertain whether it means the brothers are closer to reconciliation.

The brothers have maintained a distance from each other after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved their family to CaIifornia in 2020. After they quit as senior royals, the Sussexes sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a bombshell interview about their lives within the royal family.

During the televised interview, they revealed a member of the royal family had expressed concerns over what colour their son Archie’s skin would be when he was born, and that Meghan was denied help after experiencing thoughts of suicide.

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