Meghan and Kate Missed Chance for Olive Branch Moment—Diana's Friend Says

Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton could have sent the world "a message" by being photographed together at Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee opening, according to a friend of Princess Diana's.

Meghan and Harry were barely seen as they watched the queen's Trooping the Colour birthday parade from the sidelines, in the Major General's Office.

There were a few snatched photographs of them sharing a sweet moment with some royal children and chatting to Elizabeth's cousin the Duke of Kent—but nothing with Kate.

Richard Kay, a friend of the late Princess Diana, wrote in the Daily Mail: "Charming as these episodes undoubtedly were, imagine the value of a snapshot of them with the Duchess of Cambridge [Kate]. Was the absence of it deliberate?"

Things could all have been different as Kate was briefly positioned at the same vantage point as the California-based couple, though she was not photographed there.

The Duchess of Cambridge and her children took part in a royal carriage procession during the first stage of the military pageant but moved up to the Major General's Office after that, before later joining Elizabeth on the main Buckingham Palace balcony to watch the fly past at the end.

The two royal women could have used the moment as an opportunity to show the world there were no hard feelings after Meghan said her sister-in-law made her cry at a bridesmaid's dress fitting ahead of her 2018 royal wedding.

Kay wrote: "It is impossible to know if such a moment even presented itself.

"Kate might simply have been too busy keeping tabs on her three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, whose cheerful presence delighted the crowds on their carriage drive with the Duchess of Cornwall.

"And there were up to 70 people in the room, many of whom would not have exchanged a word with the duchess for more than two years.

"More significantly, this was also the first time Kate and Meghan had been together since the Duchess of Sussex accused her sister-in-law in her TV interview with Oprah Winfrey of making her cry over bridesmaids' dresses.

"What a message a photograph of the two women chatting side by side would have sent."

The fact no picture emerged creates added scrutiny around a Service of Thanksgiving, at St Paul's Cathedral, on Friday, June 3, which they will again both attend.

The queen pulled out of the service after experiencing mobility problems during Trooping the Colour, meaning there will be greater focus on the younger royals present.

And it comes after William and Kate were scheduled to travel to Cardiff on the day of Meghan and Harry's daughter Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor's first birthday, on Saturday, June 4.

Meghan and the Duchess of Cambridge have still not been seen in public together since Meghan's last royal jobs in March 2020.

Harry was seen in public with his older brother for the first time at Prince Philip's funeral on April 17, 2021, when he also chatted with Kate.

He then joined William again to unveil a statue of their mother Princess Diana at Kensington Palace on what would have been her 60th birthday, on July 1, 2021.

Meghan told Oprah in the March 2021 CBS prime-time special that newspaper articles accused her of making Kate cry when in reality "the reverse happened."

She said: "I don't say that to be disparaging to anyone, because it was a really hard week of the wedding. And she was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised.

"And she brought me flowers and a note, apologising. And she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it."