The late Queen Elizabeth II’s true feelings towards Meghan Markle are said to have surfaced in one sharp six-word comment after learning the Duchess would skip Prince Philip’s farewell.
According to royal biographer Tom Bower, when the monarch was told Meghan would not be attending the funeral in April 2021, she turned to aides and said: “Thank goodness Meghan is not coming.”
Bower wrote in his book Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors that there was “no mistaking the Queen’s dislike for the disruptive actress,” who had stepped away from royal duties the year before.
The late Prince Philip, who died at the age of 99 on April 9, 2021, had requested a pared-back service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
Despite pandemic restrictions limiting the congregation to just 30, the Queen was determined to honour her husband of 73 years with quiet dignity.
“Philip had been her rock for the previous 70 years,” Bower noted.
“To comply with Covid restrictions, she would grieve alone inside the chapel.”
Meghan, pregnant with Princess Lilibet at the time, remained in California.
Her absence reportedly came as something of a relief to the Queen, especially as the couple’s bombshell Oprah interview- in which allegations of racism within the royal household were raised- had aired just a month earlier.
Harry’s solo attendance “remained a problem”, Bower claimed, with palace officials wary of renewed friction between the Duke of Sussex and his elder brother, Prince William.
To prevent a flashpoint, their cousin Peter Philips was placed between them during the solemn walk to St George’s Chapel.
The Queen’s barbed remark contrasted with her initial opinion of the American former actress, who married Prince Harry in 2018.
According to former royal servant Paul Burrell, Her Majesty went out of her way to ease Meghan’s transition into royal life.
“There is no doubt in my mind that she didn’t want Harry and Meghan to leave. She did not want ‘Megxit’ as it was dubbed,” Burrell told the Mirror on Saturday.
He added that the Queen once told Meghan: “You can go back to acting if you want to.”
Burrell claimed the monarch was willing to bend long-standing rules for Meghan and offered her personal support whenever she needed it.
Yet, as he pointed out, generational differences made it difficult for the Queen, born into an Edwardian court and almost six decades older than Harry, to truly grasp the couple’s struggles.
“She (the Queen) wanted them to stay but she was born into an Edwardian court and was nearly 60 years older than Harry,” Burell said.
“Her Majesty had lived in a different world from her grandson. How could the Queen understand all of Harry’s problems? She couldn’t.”
Despite the tensions, Harry is understood to have reconciled with his grandmother before her death aged 96 on September 8, 2022- three years ago to the day.
Both he and Meghan attended her state funeral later that month- the Duchess’ last known trip to Britain.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.skynews.com.au ’
