The Queen made a series of touching gestures to Meghan Markle during their royal visit to Cheshire.
Meghan and Prince Harry have had a somewhat fractured relationship with the royal family since the couple announced they would "step back" as senior royals in January 2020. The Duke of Sussex was seen arriving without his wife at Balmoral last night (September 8) after a statement from Buckingham Palace announced the Queen had passed away "peacefully" at her Scottish residence yesterday afternoon.
Following the monarch's death, Harry and Meghan's children are now entitled to royal titles. Prince Charles' ascension to the throne has altered the line of succession, meaning that Archie and Lilibet, as granchildren of the monarch, can now be styled HRH and prince or princess.
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In June 2018, the Queen and the Duchess of Sussex made their first royal visit together, for the official opening of the Mersey Gateway Bridge. The monarch and her granddaughter-in-law were visibly giggling as they sat down for the ceremony at Catalyst Museum in Widnes.
It was the Duchess' first Royal visit without her husband, Prince Harry, but during the day the Royals shared private jokes and massive smiles. In their bombshell interview that aired in the US in March last year, Meghan spoke to Oprah Winfrey about her first official engagement.
She said the Queen gave her "some beautiful pearl earrings and a matching necklace" for their visit, and that the monarch also shared her blanket while travelling together. She also recalled the first time she met the Queen, describing it as "lovely and easy".
Meghan said when she met the Queen at a lunch at Royal Lodge, Windsor, Harry asked her if she knew how to curtsy. She said: "I remember Harry and I were in the car and he said 'My grandmother is going to be there so you are going to meet her'."
Harry then asked Meghan if she knew how to curtsy, but Meghan thought the protocol didn't exist 'inside'. Meghan said: "I said 'It's your grandmother.'
"He said 'It's the Queen.' That was the first moment that the penny dropped." However, Meghan said she started phoning the Queen to 'check in'.
When the Duke of Edinburgh was admitted to hospital, Meghan said: "I just pick up the phone and I call the Queen - just to check-in. That's what we do, it's like being able to default to not having to every moment go 'Is that appropriate?'"
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