Meghan's Face Blocked by Candle at Queen's Funeral: 'What a Coincidence'

Royal fans took to Twitter on Monday to voice frustration after the face of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, appeared to be obscured by a large candle during official coverage of Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral at Westminster Abbey.

In wide-angle shots of members of the royal family, who were seated by the high altar of the abbey for the ceremony, Meghan's face was blocked from view by the candle which led some fans to speculate that its placement was "no accident."

"When I watched the funeral live I noticed that you couldn't see Meghan at the Committal Ceremony with her face obstructed," wrote one user who added: "Remember Royal Family plans & executes out every single detail with precision. That candle didn't need to be there and that camera angle was no accident."

"Did anyone else notice that they placed the candle with precision to hide Meghan's face in every shot?" posted another, with a further Twitter user commenting:

"A candle blocking the majority of Meghan Markle's face, is it? What a coincidence."

Meghan attended the funeral alongside her husband, Prince Harry, and the couple were seated in a prominent position directly behind King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

Over the past week since the death of the queen, royal watchers have had a number of opportunities to see Meghan interact with her British in-laws, including Kate, the Princess of Wales, and Prince William. This follows a number of public discussions that the duchess has shared about her royal experiences, both in interviews such as the 2021 sit-down discussion with Oprah Winfrey and episodes of her own podcast Archetypes.

Most recently, Meghan gave her most in-depth print interview to date for New York magazine's The Cut. In it the duchess alluded to the fact that there may be more bombshell revelations about her life with the royals to come.

"It's interesting, I've never had to sign anything that restricts me from talking," she told journalist Allison P. Davis. "I can talk about my whole experience and make a choice not to."

When asked why she hasn't yet decided to speak candidly, the duchess responded that she was "still healing."

With this comment and the expected release of Harry's memoir which he revealed last year would be an "accurate and wholly truthful" account of his life story so far, speculation about the couple's relationships with members of the royal family, particularly the Prince and Princess of Wales and King Charles, has grown.

Since the death of the queen on September 8 at the age of 96, a tentative royal truce appears to have been made between William, Harry and Charles. The brothers, who had not been photographed together in over a year before the queen's death, made a joint appearance in the days afterwards with their wives to view floral tributes outside Windsor Castle.

William drove the two couples once dubbed by the press the "fab four" to and from the castle gates and it was revealed that the prince had reached out to Harry with the invitation.

The couples were again reunited at Buckingham Palace days later to receive the queen's coffin before the senior members of the royal family all attended a service at Westminster Hall to mark the lying-in-state period.

Meghan and Harry's attendance at the state funeral at Westminster Abbey and then the committal ceremony at St. George's Chapel, Windsor on Monday appeared to signify that the truce still holds, with the couple seen interacting with members of the wider family.

With the criticism of the candle blocking Meghan's face during the funeral service also came a level of defence of the duchess with some social media users calling it a good move as it prevented the royal's every move from being scrutinized by the media.

"That candle protecting Meghan from prying eyes who wanna judge everything she does?" said one Twitter user.

The funeral was an emotionally charged event for the royals with Meghan being seen to shed a tear during the proceedings along with Princess Charlotte, Sophie, Countess of Wessex and King Charles himself.

The queen's body was laid to rest alongside her late husband's on Monday evening in a private family ceremony in the King George VI memorial chapel at St. George's Chapel, Windsor.