Royals were pleased that Meghan Markle didn't go to Prince Philip's funeral because they wanted to avoid a 'circus,' biography reports

• Some royals were reportedly "quietly pleased" that Meghan was unable to attend Philip's funeral.
• Markle's biographers say the royals didn't want a "circus" at the ceremony in April.
• The duchess was heavily pregnant at the time and didn't receive medical clearance to fly.

Members of the royal family were pleased that Meghan Markle couldn't attend Prince Philip's funeral, according to a revised version of the royal biography "Finding Freedom."

Prince Harry traveled from Santa Barbara, California to attend the ceremony in Windsor on April 17. The Duchess of Sussex, who was heavily pregnant at the time, wasn't given medical clearance to fly, the couple's spokesperson told Insider's Darcy Schild.

"In truth, several members of the royal family are understood to have been 'quietly pleased' that Meghan stayed in California because they didn't 'want a circus,'" or, commented a senior royal source, 'the Duchess creating a spectacle,'" biographers Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand write in the book.

The ceremony at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle had been scaled back to just 30 select guests due to the UK's COVID restrictions at the time. The event marked the first time Harry reunited with some of the senior royals he and Markle discussed during their Oprah Winfrey interview on March 7.

During the interview, Harry opened up about being financially cut off by Prince Charles and said that his son Archie's skin color was the subject of racist discussions between unnamed royals.

A spokesperson for Markle confirmed to Insider at the time that she planned to watch Philip's televised funeral from home in California. The spokesperson also said that the duchess sent a wreath with a hand-written note.

"Finding Freedom" was originally published on August 11, 2020. The revised version of the book, which includes "exclusive new material on Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey and their new life in America," will be released in paperback on Tuesday.

Buckingham Palace and representatives for the Duchess of Sussex did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.