Queen Camilla accused of making subtle dig at Meghan Markle by teaming up with her ex-bestie turned enemy

Part of being queen is participating in and championing various kinds of charity work and foundations, and Queen Camilla has stepped up to the plate to do exactly that. She’s the patron of a number of charities and other organizations, and apparently loves the work. One such organization, WOW — Women of the World — has the queen as its president, and she hosted a grand event at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the many women and men at the top of their fields in arts, industry, and business as part of the charity’s 15th anniversary celebration.

The invitees were a mixture of ordinary people doing important work, people famous in their fields, and people famous more generally — including Victoria Beckham, one-time Spice Girl and now a global phenomenon known for her fashion brand and her star-powered marriage to David Beckham. There are some, however, who noted that there was one specific powerful and notable woman missing from the lineup — Meghan Markle, formally Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and the queen’s step-daughter-in-law.

At the event, the queen spoke about how important WOW is to her, especially its goal of promoting gender equality and inclusion for the next generation. The official Instagram post was celebratory, and the speech given by the queen showed off exactly how she felt about the work done by WOW and the women it was championing, whether powerful and notable or key workers in women’s shelters and beyond.

The news outlet Geo News framed Meghan’s absence as a double snub: not only was Meghan, who purports to be a champion of women and girls, not invited, her one-time best friend turned rival Victoria Beckham was. This was, according to some, a subtle dig at Meghan from the queen, a way of speaking volumes without saying a single word.

This won’t be the first time Meghan has had snubs involving a Beckham, as Victoria Beckham launched her lifestyle show before Meghan managed to get With Love, Meghan off the ground. Still, it’s unlikely that the queen personally decided the guest list: there was almost certainly some official making all of these decisions including the one to invite Victoria Beckham.

The Royal Family has been tight-lipped on anything regarding Harry or Meghan, and there hasn’t been any kind of comment about Meghan’s ventures, whether charitable, business, or her new lifestyle show. While some may see this as a snub, it’s probably not — the Royal Family generally doesn’t intervene or use its public influence to directly or the business ventures of its own . Although they are famous, they aren’t strictly speaking celebrities, occupying instead a specific constitutional role, and the approach to fame and fortune generally walks the fine line between those two things.

As the Royals have previously said, the monarchy isn’t something you can be “half in, half out” of: if Meghan and Harry want the freedom to pursue their own projects and goals, they can have it. They just can’t also have the perks of royalty without the duties and restrictions. Inviting Meghan to the event would open a can of worms that it’s unlikely either the Sussexes or the rest of the Royals want opened.