A startlingly candid new Netflix episode has once again peeled back the royal curtain — and this time, it is all about motherhood.
In the latest season of With Love, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex reveals the emotional toll she endured in the days surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. The moment arrives quietly, during what begins as a cozy conversation with British fashion designer Tan France, before it turns raw and deeply personal.
A Cozy Scene Turns Emotional
Episode 3 of Season 2, released on August 26, 2025, opens with Meghan and France sitting together at home, hand-painting aprons and reminiscing about childhood. The mood is lighthearted, filled with laughter and gentle teasing. Yet beneath the surface, a more vulnerable truth soon emerges.
“You know what’s funny? When parents are like, ‘Oh, I just can’t wait for them to go to college and be out,’ I’m like, I never want my children to leave,” France says, half-joking. “They’re not allowed to get married. Not allowed to leave my house.”
Meghan responds warmly, agreeing with his yearning to hold onto every moment of parenthood. But when France adds that he would “die” without his kids, finding it hard to be apart even for a couple of days, Meghan’s expression changes. “Oh, I know,” she says, with a solemn nod. “The longest I went without being around our kids was almost three weeks. I was… not well.”
Though she does not specify the reason, the timing strongly suggests the days surrounding Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. The monarch died on September 8, 2022, with her state funeral held at Westminster Abbey on September 19. During that time, Meghan and Prince Harry were seen attending multiple memorial events in the U.K., often alongside the Prince and Princess of Wales, while their children remained in California.
Struggles Beyond Grief
The pain of separation is only one of several challenges the Sussexes have faced since stepping away from royal duties and relocating to the United States in 2020. As reported by The Guardian, the couple encountered prolonged difficulties in securing British passports for Archie and Lilibet — delays they privately suspected may have involved royal interference.
A source close to the family explained that following the Queen’s death, Harry and Meghan applied for passports with their children’s updated Sussex surname. What should have been a routine process of three weeks reportedly dragged on for nearly six months. The couple was repeatedly given explanations ranging from “technical problems” to system backlogs. An expedited 24-hour appointment was later canceled due to a “systems failure.”
“The reluctance was clear,” one insider claimed, adding that the sticking point was not only the surname but also the use of the titles His and Her Royal Highness. The passports would have been the only legal documents bearing official recognition of those names.
The Name Dispute
Until 2023, Archie held travel documents under the family name Mountbatten-Windsor. But after the Sussexes publicly adopted “Sussex” as their surname, they updated their applications to include both the title and the name. According to a source, King Charles III himself was opposed to Archie and Lilibet carrying the HRH style, making the passport process especially fraught.
After months of delays, the couple’s legal representatives prepared to file a data subject access request, a move that would have forced disclosure of internal government communications surrounding the passport issue. Not long afterward, the documents were issued.
“The whole process was exhausting,” the source added, noting that the prolonged ordeal deepened the couple’s mistrust of the institution they had left behind.
A Mother’s Candid Voice
Meghan Markle’s words in With Love, Meghan carry an understated power. By admitting that being away from her children for nearly three weeks left her “not well,” the Duchess offered an unusually candid glimpse into the private cost of public duty. Her revelation connects the global spectacle of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral with the quiet heartbreak of a mother longing for her children — and underscores how, even years after stepping away from the royal family, the shadows of monarchy continue to shape her life.
