Politics
Meghan Markle says the Queen was ‘always wonderful to her’ and she ‘loved being in her company’
MEGHAN Markle has gushed over the Queen saying she was “always wonderful to her” in her tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The Duchess of Sussex, 39, told the chat show host, 67, that she “loved” being in Her Majesty’s company.
Read our Meghan and Harry live blog for the latest news...
Meghan spoke about the difference between the royal family as a “business” and a “family”, on Oprah With Meghan And Harry: A CBS Primetime Special.
The duchess told Oprah: “It’s hard for people to distinguish the two, because it’s a family business right, there’s the family, and then there’s the people that are running the institution, those are two separate things and it’s important to be able to compartmentalise that because the Queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me.”
Speaking of her Cheshire engagement with the Queen weeks before her wedding, Meghan said: “I mean, we had one of our first joint engagement together. She asked me to join her, and I was on the train.
“And we have breakfast together that morning and she gave me a beautiful gift and I just really loved being in her company, and I remember we were in the car and she gave me some beautiful pearl earrings and a matching necklace, and we were in the car going between engagements.”
Meghan pictured on her Cheshire engagement with the Queen before her royal wedding[/caption]
Meghan said the Queen was always ‘wonderful’ to her[/caption]
“And she has a blanket that sits across her, her knees, for warmth and it was chilly and she her knees, for warmth and it was chilly and she was like, ‘Meghan, come on.’
“And put it over my knees as well. And it made me think of my grandmother, where she’s always been warm and inviting and really welcoming.”
The explosive interview is airing on CBS in the US, and will be shown in the UK on ITV on Monday at 9pm.
Meghan and Harry, 36, along with one-year-old son Archie now live in Santa Barbara in a £11m mansion and are neighbours of Oprah. Meghan stunned in a black £3,600 Armani dress featuring a lotus flower design, and also has her hair pulled back in a centre-parted up-do.
The “primetime special” with Meghan and Harry was initially set to last 90 minutes, but CBS extended it to two hours.
Meghan and Harry signed up for the interview to have the freedom to “speak their truth”.
Oprah confirmed ahead of the two-hour special airing that “no subject is off-limits”.
In a dramatic preview of their tell-all interview, Harry said that his “biggest concern was history repeating itself” in a hint towards his mother’s own struggle in the Firm.
Meghan cradled her baby bump while the host asked her whether she was “silent, or silenced” by the Royal Family.
And the Duchess of Sussex also accused Buckingham Palace of “perpetuating falsehoods”.
In the clip, released by CBS, Meghan claims she wasn’t even allowed to speak to Oprah in 2018 without someone listening in.
A clearly angry Meghan said: “I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still just be silent if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us.
“And if that comes with risk of losing things, there is a lot that has been lost already.”
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THE ‘SECRET MEANING’ BEHIND MEGHAN’S OPRAH DRESS REVEALED
Meghan Markle chose a dress with a secret meaning for her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, it is claimed.
The Telegraph claimed that the £3,600 long triple silk georgette dress features a lotus flower design, which Meghan chose for its “symbolic meaning of revival”.
They wrote: “The lotus flower’s daily resurrection is considered proof of its determination and will to live.
“The Duchess understands that a lotus seed can withstand thousands of years without water, able to germinate over two centuries later.
“This ‘refusal to accept defeat’ is very much how she sees her own battle against the pressures of royal life.”
The royal couple apparently failed to inform the monarch of their plans to chat to the American chat show host.
News of the big interview emerged after the couple announced Meghan’s third pregnancy – and days before Buckingham Palace confirmed the pair will never return as senior royals.
Members of the Royal family usually run potential TV interview opportunities past the Queen in advance.
A global TV audience of hundreds of millions in 70 countries is expected to watch the interview.
Royal insiders said members of the family were not planning to stay up until 1am, when the Stateside interview will be screened UK time.
Instead, the Queen will be given a breakfast briefing by aides this morning.
Sources close to her said she will continue to focus on national issues this week.
MORE ON THE ROYAL FAMILY
We shared how ‘awkward’ Prince Harry is ‘tense’ in Oprah Winfrey chat while Meghan Markle is ‘confident’, says body language expert.
And Meghan was accused of taking inspiration from Wallis Simpson with centre-parted hair & floral dress by Oprah viewers.
Meanwhile, Meghan’s ‘dear friend’ shares, then deletes, photo of Archie as she defends Duchess amid ‘bullying’ row.
