Queen Elizabeth II Reportedly Tried to Comfort Meghan Markle During a Difficult Time Right Before Her Wedding to Prince Harry

Meghan Markle has not always had the closest relationship with members of the royal family. The Duchess of Sussex had a difficult time acclimating to royal life, and it started the moment the media realized she was dating Prince Harry.

Meghan’s own family members, including her father, took advantage of her skyrocketing fame, and Prince Harry once revealed that his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, made a sweet gesture toward Meghan while the now-duchess was going through a difficult time just before marrying Harry.

Queen Elizabeth II called Meghan Markle to check in about her father

Prior to Meghan meeting Harry, she had a close relationship with her father. But fame can be negative, too, and in Meghan’s case, it might be what ruined her father-daughter relationship. Thomas ended up not walking his daughter down the aisle due to both health issues and a situation with the paparazzi; the latter seemingly caused damage. But Harry once recalled in “Spare” that his grandmother did try to help Meghan.

Harry described how he was having tea with Meghan and Charles when the duchess’ phone rang. “We all looked stunned,” Harry wrote. “Meg tentatively reached for the phone. It seemed Granny was calling to talk about Meg’s father.” The queen reportedly suggested that Meghan reach out to her father. Several years later, Meghan has seemingly cut all communication with Thomas and his relatives.

These days, the duchess only has a close relationship with her mother, Doria Ragland. Thomas reportedly lives in Mexico and has not met either of Meghan and Harry’s children (they share Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, who will turn 5 and 3 respectively this year).

Meghan Markle always had a close relationship with Queen Elizabeth

Meghan and Harry had a difficult time working with the royal family for various reasons — some of which we still don’t know the full details on. But Harry and his grandmother were always incredibly close, and Meghan and the queen developed a fast connection, too.

In Meghan’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, she talked about first meeting the queen and how sweet the elderly woman was. When Queen Elizabeth died, Meghan and Harry spent more than a week in the United Kingdom grieving her. Meghan has not returned to the UK since (though she is expected to go back alongside Harry for an Invictus Games event in May 2024).

Right now, it seems Harry and Meghan are still working through their difficult relationship with other royal family members. Meghan has not seen any royals face-to-face since the queen’s death, and while Harry has been to the UK a handful of times, he has only visited for brief trips and has not always seen his relatives while there.