London: Meghan did not attend the coronation of King Charles III - or did she?
Both the Duchess of Sussex's spokesperson, and Buckingham Palace, had confirmed beforehand that she would not be attending the May 6 ceremony - yet discussion of Meghan, who has long sparked both fascination and vitriol from the British press - still led to one of the coronation's most memorable viral moments.
As the cameras zoomed in on a mysterious figure with flowing silver mullet hair, an impressive mustache and oversized tinted glasses sat in Westminster Abbey, some viewers decided that it must be Meghan, attending the ceremony in a wig as part of a cunning disguise.
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"You're not fooling us," tweeted one royal watcher to Meghan, while another joked, "Meghan Markle's disguise nearly had me fooled . . ."
As photos of the unidentified figure went viral, British and American tabloids also joined in the fun, with one running the headline: "Coronation viewers convinced Meghan Markle 'snuck into ceremony' in bizarre disguise."
The speculation prompted the gray-haired guest, who was in fact Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, to make a statement.
"I understand there's been quite a lot of interest in me," 79-year-old Jenkins said on TikTok Wednesday, as he sought to dispel rumors he was the 41-year-old American wife of Prince Harry undercover. "I was quite surprised that some people thought I was Meghan Markle in disguise."
Sounding both calm and bemused, Jenkins, who was knighted in 2015 for "services to composing," noted that some commentators had even determined his hair and mustache were "obviously a disguise" so he could "try and steal the crown jewels."
"I look this way all the time," Jenkins chuckled, adding that he had had his standout handlebar mustache for more than 60 years. "I've had the mustache since I was 18 years old. It was very trendy then. . . . Nothing sinister about it or surprising at all!"
The composer added he was at the coronation because music he had written was played at the ceremony, and showed viewers the medal he was wearing at the coronation, which was given to him after he received his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II.
Jenkins is among the most performed living composers, according to a global survey from 2011. The musician holds several honors at home and abroad, according to his official website.
More than 18 million people tuned in to watch King Charles and Queen Camilla being crowned, according to British media. Around 2,000 guests were invited - including Prince Harry and his wife Meghan.
There had been intense speculation over whether Harry and Meghan would attend, given they have been enmeshed in a very public fallout with members of the royal family.
Ultimately, Harry attended the service alone, sitting three rows from the front and heading back to the United States almost immediately after. The prince, who is fifth in line to the British throne, had no formal role in the coronation service and did not join family members afterward on the balcony at Buckingham Palace.
Meghan meanwhile, stayed home in California. The coronation coincided with their son Archie's fourth birthday.
Jenkins's video statement that he was not Meghan was viewed more than 1 million times, and sparked a new round of coverage, with the tabloid Daily Mail heralding that the "mystery" was "finally solved," and the BBC running the headline: "I wasn't Meghan in disguise at coronation."
But some people joked they were still unconvinced. "I've never seen you and Meghan Markle in the same room, sir," read one comment on Jenkins's video, while another person tweeted, "That is exactly the kind of thing Meghan Markle in disguise would say."
