THE Royal Family were "quietly pleased" Meghan Markle couldn't make it to Prince Philip's funeral, a pal has claimed.

The Duchess of Sussex, 39, was unable to attend the service in Windsor Castle in April as she was pregnant with daughter Lilibet Diana at the time.

But a new chapter in explosive book Finding Freedom claims some royals were happy as they "didn't want a circus", the Independent reports.

Authors Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, who is a friend and spokesperson for Meghan, also quote a senior source who claims the family feared she would "create a spectacle".

Prince Harry attended his grandfather's funeral after making the 5,400-mile journey from his and Meghan's lavish home in California.

But it was reported at the time that doctors had advised Meghan to stay behind because of her pregnancy.

The updated version of Finding Freedom also explores Harry and Meghan's "heartbreak" over Philip's death aged 99.

Publisher HarperCollins said the latest edition will also share "behind the scenes" details of their bombshell Oprah interview as well as their move to California.

And it will recount "Meghan's emotional healing journey from losing a child to the birth of their daughter".

The new edition, which is due to come out on August 31, looks at the controversy surrounding Remembrance Sunday last year.

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It claims Harry had wanted a wreath laid on his behalf at the Cenotaph but it was left in a box at the Kent offices of the Royal British Legion instead.

This was because Harry was no longer a "frontline royal", Scobie and Durand write.

The book adds: "Ten years of service and a lifetime commitment to the military community and this is how it's been acknowledged by his family."

Finding Freedom already chronicles Harry and Meghan's romance and brief period as members of the monarchy before Megxit.

But it was updated after a tumultuous year for the Royal Family that includes allegations of racism towards their son Archie.

The couple claimed a senior royal made a racist comment about the colour of his skin in their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Prince William, who broke precedent to deny the family was racist, was said to be "furious that private family matters were being discussed in the public domain", the book claims.

The Finding Freedom update is said to have been written with the participation of those closest to the Sussexes.

Scobie, a journalist favoured by the couple, said of the first edition that the couple "did not authorise the book and have never been interviewed for it".

Harry is now planning his own upcoming tell-all memoir that will give an "accurate and wholly truthful" account of his life.

Buckingham Palace did not wish to comment when approached by The Sun Online.

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