A high-profile gala tied to Princess Diana’s legacy was abruptly pulled off the calendar this month, and the timing has raised eyebrows. Now, royal commentator Tom Sykes is claiming the cancellation had everything to do with keeping Meghan Markle away from the spotlight.
Prince William Didn’t Want Diana Gala To Become Meghan Markle’s ‘Relaunch Pad’
The Diana Award gala dinner had been set for September 18 at London’s Raffles Hotel at the OWO. It was called off on short notice after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released a statement on September 2 confirming they were not scheduled to attend, following earlier reports that the Duke of Sussex was expected as a featured guest.
Royal commentator Tom Sykes addressed the fallout on the September 9 episode of The Royalist podcast, claiming Meghan had genuinely wanted to be there. According to Sykes, the Duchess of Sussex had been “very keen to go to the event” and had already started reaching out to British designers about what she’d wear.
Sykes then pointed to Prince William as the reason things fell apart before they started.
“I wouldn’t be surprised, let’s put it this way, if William felt that he didn’t want his mother’s memory used as a kind of relaunch pad for Meghan in the U.K.”
William and Harry are no longer official patrons of The Diana Award, but the charity is reportedly one of the few tied to their mother that both brothers still quietly support. That connection is exactly what made a Sussex appearance so sensitive in the first place, according to Sykes.
A representative for Harry and Meghan pushed back hard on the entire premise once the reports surfaced.
“Despite the Daily Mail’s reporting to the contrary, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are not scheduled to attend a Diana Award event at Raffles Hotel, OWO London, on September 18”.
Facts matter. Accuracy matters. Apparently, neither made the guest list for this particular story.
No one connected to the charity or the palace has confirmed publicly why the gala was actually canceled. Until someone does, the gap between what Sykes is describing and what the Sussexes’ camp is denying is likely to keep fueling speculation.
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