A new biography on the late Queen claims that she welcomed Prince Harry’s marriage to Meghan Markle, but worried that her grandson might be “too in love” with the American actress.
Gyles Brandreth, a close friend and confidant of many senior royals, is releasing a new book that purports to give an inside look at the Queen’s response to Harry’s marriage to Meghan, who is thought not to be attending this year's royal Christmas.
The new biography claims that the Queen was initially delighted by the match and looked forward to Meghan making a significant contribution to public life.
Gyles, who served as the Conservative MP for Chester between 1992 and 1997, says that late monarch did “everything" to ensure that Meghan would “feel welcome" in the family, and that she was glad when Meghan declared that she planned to quit acting in order to fully commit herself to public life.
She also reportedly got on well with Meghan’s mother, and expressed regret at Meghan’s estrangement from many of her relatives.
Meghan doesn't speak to her father, so Prince Charles walked her down the aisle at her May 2018 wedding.
As Queen Elizabeth's thought to have liked the former Suits actress, Gyles claims that, at first, the Queen’s only concern was that Harry might be “a little over-in-love” with Meghan.
However, he says the late monarch grew worried when Sophie Wessex’s offer to show Meghan the ropes of life in the Royal Family was turned down by her.
Gyles also reports that the Queen was unfazed by the couple’s explosive tell-all interview with American chat show host Oprah Winfrey, despite stirrings from other members of the family.
The book alleges that both her husband Prince Philip and her son Prince Andrew were upset by the interview, but that the Queen, who reportedly may have been suffering from cancer in the final year of her life, dismissed their concerns.
Gyles, who claims one of his sources as Prince Philip himself, says that she brushed it all off as “television nonsense” and reminded a disgruntled Prince Andrew that his ex-wife had once done a similar interview.
In 1996, Sarah Ferguson – Andrew’s ex-wife and the mother of his daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie – gave a candid interview with Oprah in which she described royal life as “not a fairy tale".
Gyles also added that when Meghan was mentioned to the Queen after they stepped down from their royal roles, she would succinctly say that she wished Meghan and her grandson “all the best", but would comment no further on the couple.
As well as this, Gyles’ book contains several snippets of insider gossip from the palace, including an anecdote about a misunderstanding between the Queen and Zara Tindall.
He writes that when Zara explained to her majesty that she would be naming her daughter Lena, rather than Elena, to avoid her having the initials E.T. – but the monarch failed to get the reference to the classic Steve Spielberg film.
READ MORE:
- To read the very best of today’s OK! content from breaking news to Royals and TV – CLICK HERE
- I'm A Celeb's Mike Tindall has emotional reunion with wife Zara as he's eliminated
- Princess Charlotte 'to be Duchess of Edinburgh in fitting tribute to the Queen'
- Princess Beatrice reacts as Mike Tindall is voted off I'm A Celeb and reunited with Zara
- For the latest showbiz exclusives, sign up to our daily OK! newsletter
Source: Read Full Article