Queen Elizabeth II, who reigned from 1952 to her death in 2022, wanted to know about Meghan Markle’s wedding address ahead of the ceremony with Prince Harry – but Meghan didn’t tell her anything
Queen Elizabeth II “was not at all content” with the “Megxit” debacle, extraordinary new notes reveal.
The late monarch often confided in Lady Elizabeth Anson, her cousin and trusted aide, about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The explosive disclosures have now been made public and shed a fascinating light on the late Queen’s views on the couple, who quit royal duties for a new life in Calfornia in 2020.
Sally Bedell Smith, a royal biographer, had interviewed Lady Elizabeth and subsequent notes are now online, as part of the writer’s blog called Extra Substack. One passage reads: “She (Queen Elizabeth II) said she was not at all content.” Another says: “Harry was rude to her for ten minutes.”
There was also friction around Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018. It is understood the Duchess of Sussex “wouldn’t tell” the Queen anything about her dress, a Givenchy number which featured an open bateau neckline and three-quarter length sleeves. It is said the late Queen eventually found the dress “flamboyant” and thought it wasn’t fit for a divorcee. Before her relationship with Prince Harry, Meghan had been married to Trevor Engelson.
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In Ms Smith’s newly released notes, she said Lady Elizabeth told her: “Meghan wouldn’t tell her (Queen Elizabeth II) about the wedding dress”. The Queen’s cousin, who was a party planner, also declared: “The jury [was] out on whether she likes Meghan.”
The sequence goes onto detail the tension around “Megxit,” the term used for Harry and Meghan’s departure to the US. The situation left Prince Harry’s grandmother upset, according to the royal writer. Lady Elizabeth told Ms Smith: “I was shocked when the Queen told me this, how she was so saddened.”
The Queen regularly used Lady Elizabeth as a sounding board until the latter’s death in November 2020, aged 79. Her interview with Ms Smith came in her final months, shortly after the Duke and Duchess quit royal duties for their new life in the US.
But in recent weeks, there have been hints the couple may be eyeing a return to the royal fold. One of these – the inclusion of the titles HRH (His /Her Royal Highness) as well as the surname Sussex on passport applications for little Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet – did, though, leave royal sources “utterly bewildered” last month.
Yet, Richard Eden, a royal reporter with the Daily Mail, wrote: “The suggestion gives the biggest hint yet that they’re hoping to mend fences.
“And it raises the question: Could the Sussexes, who chose to give up boring old public duties to seek their fortune in the US, stage a return to the royal fold via their children?”