Queen Elizabeth II expressed concern that Prince Harry was “perhaps a little too in love” with Meghan Markle during the early days of their marriage, a new book has claimed.
A new biography, Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, sees the author and family friend to the royals, Gyles Brandreth, claim the comment was “as far as she came – to my knowledge at least – to ever uttering a word against the new Duchess of Sussex”.
According to the book, the former monarch was “truly delighted” when Prince Harry first told her of his plans to marry the US actor, and did “everything she could” to make her feel at home within the family.
However, following bullying claims made against the Duchess, alleging that she drove out two personal assistants and undermined the confidence of a third, the Queen apparently expressed concern about the impact of this on her grandson.
Responding to the allegations in 2021, Meghan’s spokesperson said: “The Duchess is saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself and is deeply committed to supporting those who have experienced pain and trauma.”
An excerpt from the book, published in the Daily Mail, also revealed that during her first meeting with Meghan, the Queen told her that she did not have to give up her acting career, saying: “You can carry on being an actress if you like – that’s your profession, after all.”
However, Meghan reportedly said she would step back from her career to concentrate on her royal duties.
“Indeed, Meghan promised that when it came to the Commonwealth, she wouldn’t let Her Majesty down,” the biographer claims.
“The Queen (who, of course, had seen it all before) understood that Harry’s girl might find adjusting to royal life ‘challenging to begin with’ (as she put it),” the book reads.
“It is very jolty, but you soon get used to it”, the Queen is claimed to have said.
The book also claims that Prince Andrew was alleged to have “harrumphed” to his mother about the Duke and Duchesses’ decision to give an interview to Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
Compared with other royals, the Queen was said to be much more relaxed about the decision, reminding the Duke that his former wife, Sarah Ferguson, has previously given an interview to the same talk show host.
Brandreth notes that while the Duke of Edinburgh described the Sussexes’ interview as “madness”, the Queen simply dismissed it as “this television nonsense”.
