The late Queen told Meghan Markle she could "carry on being an actress" at their first meeting and was "concerned" for her happiness, a book has claimed.
Meghan first met the monarch back in the early days of her romance with Prince Harry, when she was still a star in the hit legal TV drama Suits.
However, when she and Harry eventually became engaged, Meghan gave up her acting career and took up royal duties - before she and Harry quit the Firm less than two years later.
But according to a new book called Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait by author and friend of the royals Gyles Brandreth, Harry's grandmother did "everything she could" to ensure Meghan's happiness and even told her she could continue in her former career.
He writes: "She did everything she could to make her future granddaughter-in-law feel welcome. She was concerned for her future happiness. At their first meeting, the Queen said to Meghan: 'You can carry on being an actress if you like – that’s your profession, after all.'
"But Meghan was ready for royal duty and, of course, the Queen was delighted by that. She was particularly delighted by the enthusiasm Meghan showed for the Commonwealth and the commitment she made to the Queen to do 'whatever you think we should be doing for the Commonwealth'.
She promised the Queen that when it came to the Commonwealth she wouldn’t let Her Majesty down. The Queen liked Meghan and told lots of people so."
The book is published tomorrow - the same day Harry and Meghan's seemingly explosive docuseries is set to drop on Netflix.
And in one trailer for the show, there is a shot of Meghan sobbing and another where she claims she "realised I was never going to be protected".
The trailer sees the couple talking about their lives in the royal family and the hierarchy within it and claiming there is a leaking and planting of stories.
At one point in the minute-long promo for the brand new show, Harry holds his head in his hands as a heavily pregnant Meghan stands in the background and he says: "It's a dirty game."
He then adds: "The pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution this feeding frenzy" while pictures of his late mother Princess Diana being hounded by photographers can be seen as well as the now Princess of Wales Kate.
The trailer then features a shot of Harry and Meghan looking alarmed as they sit in a car before Meghan adds: "I realised they are never going to protect you."
She is then seen crying again while Harry explains: "I was terrified, I did not want history to repeat itself."
It comes after earlier in the trailer when a photo of the royal family at Trooping the Colour in 2019 appears and Harry says: "There is a hierarchy in the family. You know, there's leaking but there is also planting of stories."
It ends with Harry saying: "No one knows the full truth. We know the full truth.”
Last Thursday the first official teaser for Harry & Meghan, the Sussexes’ behind-the-scenes Netflix docuseries, dropped.
The couple is heard by a voice in the background being asked: “Why did you want to make this documentary?”
Harry says “No one sees what’s happening behind closed doors… I had to do everything I could to protect my family”, while Meghan says, “When the stakes were this high, doesn’t it make more sense to hear our story from us?”
Netflix has confirmed the first half of the six-part series will drop tomorrow (December 8) and the rest will come the Thursday after (December 15).
