The Queen’s funeral: Karl Stefanovic’s one-word verdict on Meghan Markle’s tearful appearance

Today show host Karl Stefanovic couldn’t resist taking a swipe at his least-favourite member of the Royal Family in the aftermath of the Queen’s funeral on Monday.

He made the baseless suggestion that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wasn’t actually crying when she was pictured wiping away a tear at the sombre service.

Stefanovic made clear his verdict on Meghan’s public display of emotion with just one word – ‘apparently’ – and it didn’t go unnoticed by his co-anchor Allison Langdon.

The moment occurred while Stefanovic and Langdon were speaking to royal photographer Chris Jackson outside Buckingham Palace at about 9:21pm local time, or 6:21am on Tuesday in eastern Australia.

Stefanovic noted how several photos from the funeral were open to interpretation, particularly in regard to whether certain members of the Royal Family were crying.

He implied that pictures of Meghan wiping away tears were perhaps misleading.

‘There’s been lots of photos around and interpretations of photos and reading into photos [meanings] that may or may not be true,’ he said.

‘There’s a couple of Meghan, um, with a tear running down her face – apparently – and also even one of Princess Charlotte that everyone was saying she was crying, and we don’t know if it was true or not.’

He made the baseless suggestion that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wasn’t actually crying when she was pictured wiping away a tear at the sombre service

As Stefanovic cast doubt on Meghan’s tearful display with the word ‘apparently’, Langdon smiled nervously then offered him a knowing look.

Meghan wept as she watched Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin being carried out of Westminster Abbey in London on Monday after a remarkable funeral attended by the great and good from across the world. 

The Duchess of Sussex, 41, dabbed her cheek during the emotional moment as she stood beside Camilla, the Queen Consort, Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, and her children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Stefanovic noted how several photos from the funeral were open to interpretation, particularly in regard to whether certain family members were crying. His suggestion that photos of Meghan wiping away tears were perhaps misleading prompted a knowing look from Langdon

The moment occurred while Stefanovic and Langdon were speaking to photographer Chris Jackson (pictured) outside Buckingham Palace at about 9:21pm local time, or 6:21am on Tuesday in eastern Australia

Earlier, Meghan walked into the abbey in a sombre procession behind the Queen’s coffin. In front of her was Kate, the two eldest Cambridge children, and Prince Edward with Sophie, the Countess of Wessex.

Before the service, the duchess stood briefly beside Kate, George and Charlotte as she watched Elizabeth II’s coffin being placed on the altar.

She and Harry then took their seats on the second row alongside Princess Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

‘There’s been lots of photos around and interpretations of photos and reading into photos [meanings] that may or may not be true,’ Stefanovic said. ‘There’s a couple of Meghan, um, with a tear running down her face – apparently – and also even one of Princess Charlotte that everyone was saying she was crying, and we don’t know if it was true or not.’ (Pictured from left: Meghan; Camilla, Queen Consort; Prince George; Catherine, Princess of Wales; Princess Charlotte at the state funeral of Her Majesty the Queen at Westminster Abbey in London)

On the front row alongside Charles and Camilla were the Princess Royal, her husband, Timothy Laurence; Prince Andrew; Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex; the Prince and Princess of Wales with George and Charlotte; Peter Phillips; and Zara and Mike Tindall.

Later, at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, Meghan and Harry were directed to their seats by the Princess of Wales as she, William, Kate and Charlotte stood aside to led them into their stall. 

The Queen made her final journey from Westminster Hall to the church where she married and was crowned as Britain mourned its longest-serving monarch, and the royals said goodbye to a beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Meghan was openly weeping during the state funeral and burial of her husband’s grandmother

Her coffin was placed close to the altar with her crown, orb and sceptre on its top surrounded by flowers chosen by the King from gardens she loved. A card in the flowers on top of the coffin read simply: “In loving and devoted memory. Charles R.”

The Sussexes live in California but have remained in the UK since the Queen’s death on September 8. They happened to be in the country for the WellChild awards when the news was announced.

The couple were without their children Archie, three, and Lilibet, 15 months, who are believed to have remained in California with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland. 

Before the service, the Duke of Sussex put aside his feud with his brother, Prince William, to walk alongside him behind the Queen’s coffin. 

Harry was wearing a civilian suit rather than uniform due to no longer being a senior royal.

The Today hosts are no fans of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are divisive figures in the Commonwealth due to their very public criticism of the Royal Family.

Just a day before the Queen’s death earlier this month, the pair called out Meghan for using a soundbite of Langdon speaking in 2018 during an episode of her Archetypes podcast.

In the context of the podcast, the American former actress used Langdon’s quote as evidence of sexism in the media, accusing outlets of saying she was lucky Prince Harry had ‘chosen her’ to be his wife when they became engaged in 2017.

Langdon’s actual quote, from an episode of 60 Minutes Australia, was: ‘The happy couple has enchanted the world with their real-life fairytale.’

Speaking on the Today show on September 7, the journalist insisted she had never once suggested Meghan was ‘lucky’ to have bagged herself a prince.

‘[I’m blowing] steam out my ears! What part of that was saying, “Harry [chose you]… oh, my gosh,”‘ she scoffed.

Stefanovic was also furious, saying that the latest episode of Archetypes ‘makes my head explode’.

‘Whatever side of the fence Ally is on in this story, she gets smashed by Meghan,’ he added, rolling his eyes.

‘You tell me, in anything I just said… was me saying she was lucky because of Prince [Harry]!’ Langdon exclaimed.

‘All I know is I had a lot of mates who liked Meghan for a long time, and none of them do anymore,’ she added.