The Queen said 'thank goodness' when she learned Meghan Markle wasn't going to Prince Philip's funeral, book says

• A new book said the Queen was relieved when she learned Markle wasn't attending Prince Philip's funeral.
• The funeral took place weeks after Harry and Meghan's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey aired.

Queen Elizabeth II was relieved when she learned that Meghan Markle was not attending Prince Philip's funeral in 2021, according to a new book excerpted by The Times of London.

"Thank goodness Meghan is not coming," the Queen told close aides as she was preparing to mourn her late husband at his funeral on April 17, 2021, according to the book.

The anecdote appears in "Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and the War between the Windsors" by the historian Tom Bower, which is set to publish next week.

According to The Times, the book painted the picture of an emotionally-fraught funeral for Prince Philip, in which only 30 people — including Prince Harry — attended due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Sources close to the queen suggested to Insider that it was unlikely that she was focusing on anything else but her late husband at the funeral.

The funeral happened six weeks after the duke and duchess' explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey aired, in which the couple described racism they had faced from members of the royal family and Markle said she felt "silenced" and suicidal.

The funeral also came weeks before Harry's Apple TV+ documentary on his mental health aired, in which he said of the royal family: "I've seen behind the curtain. I've seen the business model. I know how this operation runs ... I don't want to be part of this."

The book excerpt printed in The Times criticized the prince for his chosen independence from the royals, saying: "Most Britons could not understand Harry's seeming hostility towards his country and family" and saying that his "disloyalty to his grandmother was particularly mystifying."

Bower, the book's author, also reported that the Queen was focusing on keeping Prince Andrew, who was an associate of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, "out of sight" during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

"The media's focus would no longer be the Queen's achievements over 70 years, but on her dysfunctional son and grandson. Inevitably, the public reaction would be unenthusiastic," Bower wrote.