As we saw last week, Queen Elizabeth adores her new granddaughter-in-law, the Duchess of Sussex. The Queen invited Meghan to travel overnight with her on the Royal Train, then they did a day of activities with each other, with no buffers (no Harry or Camilla or whomever). It was widely seen as the Queen giving a major stamp of approval to Meghan, and it worked for the most part. I’m sure that there will always be people who criticize Meghan as an uncouth American who has no business being married to a prince, but the Queen’s public approval of Meghan did a lot to silence the pearl-clutching old-guard royalists. Tom Sykes at the Daily Beast has a piece about why the Queen has grown so fond of Meghan so quickly – you can read the piece here, and here are some highlights:
Royal writer Christopher Andersen on how Meghan’s love of the Queen’s corgis helped her very quickly: “Everyone in the Royal Family, without exception, detests the Queen’s corgis, and the corgis return the favor. Charles, Philip, Anne, Andrew, Edward, William, Harry, all have gone on record saying they cannot abide Her Majesty’s dogs. They bark, they nip, they pee everywhere, and they are famous for sweeping into a room and tripping people up. But they love Meghan. And the Queen has practically adopted Meghan’s adorable rescue beagle, Guy.”
Anderson says Meghan showed the Queen a ton of respect from the first moment: “Meghan is quite articulate and thoughtful. To put it bluntly she comes across as a class act compared to some of the other in-laws the Queen has had to contend with. Meghan apparently asks all the right questions. She seems eager to learn all she can about England and the dynasty she’s now a part of.”
Robert Lacey on the importance of Meghan’s invitation to go overnight on the Royal Train: “Being invited to travel on the royal train is a completely different level of intimacy to being asked to travel on some billionaire’s private jet. It’s more like being invited to stay at someone’s private home. It’s a real gesture of inclusion, since it is very much the Queen’s space, and she wouldn’t share that space with just anyone. Of course, we can never really know how much of all this is personal, and how much is part of the job—welcoming a recruit who is very good business for the family image. But she and Meghan do genuinely seem to have hit it off. Meghan has clearly made Harry happy, and that has made the queen happy as well.”
On what this is really about: The significance of Meghan being invited to spend a night with HM on the royal train won’t be lost on those courtiers who continue to grumble, with thinly disguised racism, about the royal family letting an outsider like Meghan in. She’s more than good enough for me, the queen is not-so-subtly stating, so get over yourselves. In setting her face against such small-mindedness, the queen is playing her own very significant part in dragging the House of Windsor into the modern age.
Don’t hate me but I actually agree with Sykes that there’s a performative quality to what the Queen is doing, and I also think it’s about race. I think that’s why the Queen and the royal courtiers fast-tracked Meghan’s journey to duchess-hood too – because they wanted to be SEEN as publicly embracing Harry’s marriage to an African-American woman. They know that long-term, this helps The Firm’s image and it makes them look more inclusive and, dare I say, woke. Now, that being said, of course I think the Queen is genuinely fond of Meghan too. I think the Queen appreciates that one of her favorite grandsons married a grown-ass woman who worked for a living and lived in the world, as opposed to marrying some flighty aristocratic girl.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Thank god for Meghan. She is my only respite from the god-awful news flooding my feed, my brain, my heart.
Keep us happy, Meg!
I was just coming in to say the same thing. I need this so I don’t break down crying all day.
seriously. this is the only feel-good news around lately, I’ll take it.
This is so true – she’s been a welcome respite from the news ever since Election Day 2016 in US. I think Harry’s letter came out within a day or two after that.
It’s so nice right now because we’re getting so many more doses of her compared to a year ago. Love all the daily angles, CB. Please keep it up.
-Duch
I am so glad to have positive news about our WoC American Duchess coming out of the UK because I am a WoC American who has to spend a significant amt of time in the UK this year for work. And without the Royal Wedding and Meghan’s First Year in the RF, both countries would be downers, between the dual nightmares of Trump and Brexit. But Meghan helps put some positive, optimistic energy out there for both nations!! Other things keeping me going right now are Janelle Monáe’s and Paul McCartney’s new music. I cling to the stuff that makes me happy these days.
I love watching this love affair unfold! BFF forever!
I love that they are friends!
“Charles, Philip, Anne, Andrew, Edward, William, Harry, all have gone on record saying they cannot abide Her Majesty’s dogs.”
I think this is the first actual new piece of information I’ve learned about the royals (everything else seems to have been a repeat of what’s been said over the years, just slightly modified depending on which side you take), and it’s funny.
Our Australian Shepherd is as wonderful (and spoiled) as they come…but I have to say I wouldn’t want to be around dogs that nipped and peed either.
Minx, we have an Aussie, too (this is my second; both have been black tris). They are the best dogs 🙂
Andrea, ours is a black tri too! We got her as a rescue, didn’t know anything about Aussies. They are so smart, so affectionate.
As an owner of a corgi, it’s not just the nipping…it’s the attitude. They aren’t lovey dogs and I have several scars from breaking up fights between the corgi and the pit bull.
Nickname, oh no! They are so cute.
AUSSIES RULE! I have 2 😁
Love it that the Queen and the Duchess are such huge dog people. That tells me a lot about their character.
We have a corgi and is he stubborn! He will pick fights with our shepherd mix so we keep a big spray bottle of water handy . He is also the cutest and most charming dog we’ve ever had.
Lol, my niece has a corgi, and he is stubborn but adorable. We noticed he guards my grandmother and carefully follows her when she uses a walker, and he does so in a very slow, paced, protective manner, matching her gait while keeping others clear of her. He then loves to settle at her feet while she reads. Otherwise, he is hustling around underfoot and tripping us all up. No nipping, though.
I guess the royal corgis were rather spoiled even though I would assume the queen should have had the best damn dog trainers available! My corgi, although not the best trained, has the sweetest most cuddly nature and has never nipped heels.
Harry did say in the engagement interview how the dogs keep barking at him and Meghan walk in and ‘nothing’, just staying by her feet waging their tails. It was very sweet.
Ok not the full transcript but that the jest of it.
This bit of info totally rings false. It is rather laughable. Numerous media outlets reported in April that HM’s last Corgi had died.
The last off-spring of her original corgi’s she got as a child died. There have been recent photos of her with corgis/corgi mix.
The Queen’s last purebred corgi did die last April, but she still has two dogs, Vulcan and Candy, which are informally known as “dorgis” – a cross-breed between a dachshund and a corgi introduced to the royal household when Princess Margaret’s dachshund Pipkin mated with one of the Queen’s dogs.
Thanks for the clarification. Am glad the Queen still has dogs. And dogs always know people.
She also adopted a corgi not too long ago that belonged to one of her gamekeepers after he died. The corgi line that is finished is the one descended from Susan. The Queen had stopped breeding corgis years ago because she didn’t want to leave young dogs when she died. And no wonder if all her relatives hate them!
She has her dorgy or whatever it’s called.
Imo, Lizz learned from the past. She doesn’t want another Diana or Chuck plus Camilla. And since her mum was a raging racist, maybe this is her way of apologizing for the past in a way.
I think we as a society need to apologise for the past, but no one is responsible for the actions of their parents or other ancestors.
Didn’t one of Anne’s dogs murder one of the Queen’s, or vice versa?
Whoa! Really?
I think it was a York princess that lost her dog to one of the Queen’s.
HM’s dogs attacked Bea’s dog and it had to be put down.
Anne has gotten in legal trouble at least twice for her dogs attacking other dogs.
That story has been out for years. Philip especially dislikes them and how noisy they are.
Back in 2008 one of the Queen’s corgis was attacked by one of Princess Anne’s bull terrier’s when Anne arrived at Sandringham for the Christmas holiday and the corgi had to be put down and the Queen was devastated. The same bull terrier named Dotty, also attacked and bit two boys in Great Windsor Park and Anne was fined 500 pounds and there was talk of putting Dotty down but I don’t know what came of that.
Since the Queen loves dogs and just lost her last Corgi, Willow in April, I’m sure she’s lavishing a lot of affection on Meghan’s rescue beagle as we’ve seen the pooch riding in the Queen’s limo. The shared love of dogs is also helping Meghan and the Queen to bond.
My grandparents had corgis and they were insufferable with their barking. And they were not cuddly, playfull or obidient either so I am not that fond of the breed.
what you said Kaiser. Meghan is fun and accomplished. The queen sees it too.
I also think she’s eager to get out there and do stuff, and use her position for good.
I also think that aside from her trashy family, Meghan is relatively scandal free and there probably won’t be any major scandals or dirt being dug up on her (as opposed to members of the royal family – I’m thinking topless/bottomless pics of Kate, the whole Prince Charles/Camilla dirty phone calls, Fergie’s toe sucking, and on and on).
Aw, this article is giving me the feels. So sweet.
And again, I should look that good at TQ’s age.
I would like to know what moisturizer she uses. That skin! Peaches and cream at 92 and hardly lined.
Maria TQ’s complexion owes a lot more to the fact that she has never sun tanned or smoked than any particular face cream. Contrast with Princess Margaret’s leathery hide before she passed.
Hats! Always with the hats!
Yes, I remember lots of pictures of Margaret sunbathing in warm climates, always with a cigarette.
Special made for her by a Scottish chemist, not available to more than a handful of customers. Murray’s Emollient Skin Cream
I think she also eats well, gets lots of exercise, keeps herself (obviously!) busy. Good guidelines for aging.
The Queen smokes. It’s an open secret, though she is very careful not to be photographed doing so.
No, the Queen does not smoke (unless we’re talking Queen Margrethe II who smokes openly like a chimney). Philip even quit smoking on their wedding day for QEII, because of how her father died.
Nota, the king was still alive when Liz and Phil got married. He died four years later. Seriously, that face cream. Were you kidding?
She smokes. It is widely known in London society that has to do with royalty, though you won’t see it reported anywhere. She is not a heavy smoker, more like one or two a day. Even if you don’t believe me, think about this. Her mother smoked (well into her 90s), and so did her father and sister. What are the odds that she didn’t?
@Anon. I have never heard that about the Queen, nor her mother. I know the QM liked her drinks. Both Bertie and Margaret smoked heavily and drank heavily and paid for it.
Philip quit on their wedding day out of deference to her and her concerns about her father’s smoking and his health. This is the only place, right now, with this brand new anon, that I’ve ever seen any rumour around HM smoking. So nope, not buying it. Her father, Philip before the wedding day, William, Kate, Harry, Eugenie, but not HM.
Yes, that really is her face cream. There have been a couple of published stories about it through the years. Just look up the name.
Well, I’m not a new anon – if you hang out on Amal Clooney, or on British actor threads (Hiddleston, Cumby et al) then you will have seen posts from me. I freely admit to not posting on a daily basis on multiple threads. I am a British lawyer living in London. I have during the course of my professional life been presented to both the Duke of Edinburgh and the Princess Royal. My husband has been presented to the Queen. You may or may not conclude from this that I have met people connected with the Royal Household who know what they are talking about. A friend of mine had lunch with the Queen Mother when he was a fellow of an Oxford college which she visited. That’s how I know she was smoking in her 90s. He saw her doing it.
pretty easy to call out anon, based on anon’s own commentary…
Part of why Princess Margaret was scandalous was because she smoked in PUBLIC. It was *not* a “done” thing, it was scandalous and hinted at “carnal” urges. Any sensual pleasures have been until very recently, considered to be things you should do in private. When I was a kid it was low-class to eat while walking down the street, or to carry & walk with a drink in public. I think this is still the behavioral norm in certain circles, and more often in Europe. Leading me to: I highly doubt the Queen Mother would allow commoners to see her smoking (even though I can certainly believe she smoked).
I’ve never heard of TQ smoking.
IMO, it’s the day drinking that keeps her looking young. I’m going to give it a try. If nothing else it will certainly help me get through this (Trump) administration.
I have also heard that HM smoked 1-2 per day. I wasn’t aware that she had done so recently and it would never have been in public, but I had heard that as well.
Yeah, I think it’s both – I think the queen is aware of the optics here, and I think the queen genuinely likes Meghan and enjoys her company. their day together was planned for the optics, IMO. The overnight train ride was because she likes her.
I think the trip was cleverly concocted between BP and KP to make both the Queen and Meghan look good, and it’s facilitation was made all the more easier by Samantha Cohen the Queen’s former Assistant PS, who is presently helping the Sussexes. The Queen would not have got such a big crowd or all the publicity if Meghan had not been there, or the cover of Hello for that matter. The Queen at 92 is doing all she can to ensure that the institution of the monarchy remains ever popular.
I totally agree. I think the Queen likes Meghan a lot and is very impressed by her. But she knows that it’s not a good look for them to not be outwardly accepting of Harry’s new bi-racial wife.
I think it’s very nice that the Queen likes Meghan so much, but the shade towards other in-laws has already begun I see. Do we really need to put Megham and Kate against eachother, when they seem to get along very well?
Kate hasn’t been mentioned once on this post or thread until you brought her up.
Kate is not The Queen’s only other grand child in-law, though.
She is only one even coming close to “flighty aristocrat” though (Mike Tindall worked, of course, and Autumn Phillips was Canadian so not aristocrat and she had a career as well – Jack and Eugenie aren’t married yet but he seems to work too – isn’t that all her grandchildren-in-law? Bea is single, Edward’s kids are still minors.)
@Olive. But that’s only looking at this second to last generation. She’s also got Princess Michael of Kent as an in-law and she had Diana, Fergie, Tony Armstrong-Jones, half the cast of the Crown. She’s 92, she’s had a rack of in-laws.
@SlightlyAnonny I was replying to Peeking in who said “Kate is not the Queen’s only other grandchild-in-law.” Those people you mentioned weren’t/aren’t the Queen’s grandchild-in-law
I took it to mean Harry marrying a flighty aristocrat, not a dig a Kate. Plus, Kate wasn’t an aristocrat. The shade is on Harry’s ex’s.
good call, that probably is it.
Kate & the Middletons would be thrilled to be called aristocrats, hardly a dig on them!
I thought it was a dig at Cressida actually!
Yea, although the Middletons are very rich, they are considered “middle class”. They are not part of the Aristocracy.
They’re not as rich as they’d like you to think.
Really NotA? Do Share your personal insight into the Middleton finances!
Yeah, I thought this was more of a dig at Cressida and other aristo girls that both Harry and William dated. Cressida was even pushed by people like Ingrid Seward for Harry to marry.
I know Kate gets flack for being “workshy” and the Middleton really WANT to be part of the aristo set (well, Carole mostly), but one thing Kate has never been is a “flighty aristocrat.” That was one of the digs always made against her and William marrying her, that she WASN’T aristocratic.
That neither William or Harry married true aristocratic girls must really rub some people of that set, as well as some courtiers, noses out of joint I suspect.
Go read the reports put together by professional journalists around the time of the wedding, including the Telegraph. The two mortgages on the previous home, the foreign mortgage on the current home to try to keep it from being known in the UK, etc.
I think Megan is being fast-tracked because the Queen (God bless her) is old. She just isn’t going to be around a whole lot longer and I think she is a bit worried for the monarchy once she has passed. I think affirming Megan as a beloved and welcome member of her family is part of her effort to maintain a stable monarchy after she’s gone.
Agree. TQ is being assertive and not wasting any time making a statement about MM. It’s a smart move and very caring.
So in light of this, would it safe to say that the hopes and assumptions that Harry and Meghan will fade into nothingness in a coupe of years is just wishful thinking? Would it be safe to say that hoping and assuming that, even if they show willingness and preparedness to do the job, Harry and Meghan will never be allowed to outwork Kate is just wishful thinking? Im just curious.
Everyone else outworks Kate (of lower rank) so I don’t see why Meghan would specifically be restricted.
Lol I don’t know how true this is but I love watching the crazies flip out. Meghan so far is doing really well. And all the haters on dm and royaldish can complain about now is pda from her and harry.
Um, excuse me? Have you forgotten that yesterday she. Didn’t. Wear. A badge. That’s completely against a protocol I just made up and merits pages and pages of ranting!
She’s not at Ascot today because she was sent to the Tower for that egregious crime.
I have never cared about royals at all– thought pretty lowly of them, honestly– but damn if I am not obsessed with Meghan. I can’t even understand it, I just love her.
Lol, I thought I was the only one!!
OMG! I thought I was the only one. I have no idea what else is going on in celebrity land but I’m obsessed with Meghan news. I, also, kind of feel invested since I was a fan from watching her on Suits. Glad to have found a community here! 😀
Honestly, I think a lot of it is that her marriage to Harry isn’t actually the only or necessarily even the most interesting thing about her. We know more about her opinions and prior life than we do about most of the members of the royal family. At least that’s what I find interesting about her, and she’s certainly made Harry more interesting IMO.
Yes, I think her marriage just blew up what a rad chick she is.
When it comes to the royals, I ever only really cared about the history of it all. (And I’m not just talking about the Windsors, I’m talking the whole history starting from 1066. My favorite era being The Tudors). And I liked Diana. (I was in college when she was killed). So I liked keeping an eye on her kids and what they were up to as they grew up, though not in an avid way or anything.
I took special note of Harry a few years ago when he and Michelle and Barrack Obama began to form their friendship. To me, it signaled that there must be more to Harry than met the eye if the Obamas were getting so close and friendly with him. Him getting together with Meghan just enhanced those thought after I started learning more about her (independent of him).
In the back of my head, I suspect Harry took a look at the relationship Barrack and Michelle had together, and wanted that for himself. Because I get from him and Meghan that same vibe I got from Barrack and Michelle. I LOVED watching them together the way I now love watching Harry and Meghan together.
Spot on Morrigano, I always compare MM with MO. She educated, articulated and just like MO she talks with passion, and both of them move their arms and hands in the same gesture when talking. But, you even went further then me, by suspecting PH by looking at M&B relationship this what he wanted for himself.
You’re right. I heard PH said many times, he feels relief because he knows MM is going to be good at the job, and also they’re a team. I think this why he loves her so much, he can believe his luck, she’s a full package.
It’s really clear that there is affection there. Their facial expressions and eyes look natural. HM has looked angry for years, but she is all lit up next to The Duchess. It seems like Duchess Meghan “gets” her and vice-versa, and it makes sense given The Duchess’s life experience. As a woman of color, you have to perform to survive in the United States, and she was a professional performer with intellectual chops and education. It looks like they truly enjoy each other’s company, and that is more than prepping her for The Firm.
I agree that it’s definitely both. It’s optics but also that the Queen genuinely LIKES Meghan and thinks Harry has chosen well. And credit needs to be given to Meghan who IS a class act and is kind, educated and strong. And is a woman and not a girl. Which I think are all the things that made Harry fall in love with her in the first place.
There are a couple of pics of Meg at Royal Ascott, of her with TQ, and her with Charles, and damned if those two don’t have *real* HUGE smiles on their faces while talking with Meg. You really can’t fake that kind of smile. I do think that they genuinely like Meg. As much as I dislike Charles for his treatment of Diana, I’m starting to thaw just a bit in seeing how warmly and fondly he treats Meg (and for the graciousness he showed to Doria at the wedding).
And honestly, I’m a sucker for a good romance, and I love seeing the way Harry adores her, how he doesn’t want to let go of her hand… yes, they’re still in the “honeymoon” phase, but damn, it’s still nice to see 😊
QEII and Meg are my new favorite couple. What do you think Meghan calls the Queen? Your Majesty?
I’m thinking at this point, she probably (in private) calls her “Gran” or “Granny”, like Harry does. In public, “Your Majesty” for sure.
I agree with Kaiser. I think the Queen is very smart and knows exactly what she’s doing. I’m sure this is all about image. I’m sure that to some extent she is fond of Meghan too but I guess that’s not something we can be sure of, since I don’t suppose the Queen would let it show, even if she wasn’t.
One thing I wonder about is what the royal family think about the fact that she’s an actress. They’ve always looked down upon actresses and celebrities in general. Maybe that’s not the right way to phrase it but the impression I’ve always had is that the royals seem to think they lack class.
The probably do, although wasn’t Edward into acting for awhile?
And Sophie Winkelman, Freddy Windsor’s wife is an actress. And still working I believe, although since the accident I’m not sure.
The queen was brought up amongst aristos who have never worked a day in their lives, she herself only did so as part of the war effort, so saying that she appreciates that Meghan was a grown ass woman who has lived and work in the worked as compared to flighty aristo girls is a bit of a stretch.
I don’t imagine that she thinks having a career is more important than being an aristocrat. This is the royal family after all, your rank at birth determines the rest of your life.
That said im sure she appreciates Meghan for all her other qualities.
Much if what you say is true @MrsBump but I’m not sure it paints an accurate picture. QEII was Queen by age 25. As you say, she worked as part of the war effort (as a teenager) although she made her 1st radio broadcast to evacuated children at age 14. By her early 20s she was making appearances and standing in for her father. So she very well might be pleased Harry didn’t choose to marry a woman who up until marriage had spent all her time partying and who had never had a job.
that is true, however in her world, not working is basically the norm and the work that she does do : making appearances and cutting ribbons has nothing to do with our definition of work.
So i doubt that she would think higher of a regular working woman as compared to an aristo, that would mean that she thinks higher of the millions of us normal women compared to her own blood relatives.
@MrsBump, she doesn’t just cut ribbons and make light appearances.
She has to represent her country abroad and meet world leaders. Any miss step and she would be skewered in the press. That’s something she manages incredibly well.
She is head of the Church of England, so will appoint people to posts and have other responsibilities there as well.
The Queen is also Colonel-in-chief of the armed forces, so she will attend many ceremonial functions in this capacity.
She has to read state papers too, opens new sessions of parliament and approves new legislation.
To citizens, she presents awards and knights them.
And on top of that she does charity work. She’s patron of hundreds of charities.
So acting as if she just cuts ribbons is a bit flighty, I think.
Well said, flan. My understanding is that she must plow through boxes of briefs and know enough to comment.
@flan – im not saying that she doesn’t do whatever she does well, i’m disputing the notion that she appreciates women with pedestrian, regular, non ceremonial jobs more than non working aristicrats. Where is the proof of that? None of her kids/grandkids have had any kind of real life job (apart from Edward maybe?)
@flan – all the roles you have listed are purely ceremonial, and reading parliamentary papers in order to comment on them doesn’t seem particularly taxing either, as opposed to those actually making these laws that she reads about.
I feel like the British press has brainwashed people into thinking that she is the hardest working woman in the country, i suppose it is what it takes to uphold the monarchy given its cost. When she passes away and Charles takes over, i reckon the same propaganda machine will be hard at work again.
THIS^^^^^^
I’met not sure if you now compare the Queen to a flighty aristo. I hope not, because that would be the biggest stretch of all.
Yes, she is privileged, but she is also incredibly hard working.
not sure if you understood the gist of my comment, which is that her norm is people who do not work beyond light charity appearances.
so to say that she values working women ( that is the millions of us) over the aristos that make up her world is unrealistic.
People tend to appreciate those who resemble them more (similar education, background, social mores), which is why WE identify with Meghan rather than Kate and why we think that since we appreciate that Meghan had a job , so would the queen, without taking into account that her life and ours couldn’t be more different.
Maybe @MrsBump. But now that she’s in her 90s with a lifetime of duty and what I’d certainly call hard work behind her, I’m not sure the Queen’s “norm” is still the non-working flighty aristo crowd of her youth. That’s not to say she is one of us but I suspect she’s also a bit of a pragmatist. And for a variety of reasons she now may see value when new members of the family come in with a work history. It doesn’t have to be paid work, it could be charity work. Meghan seems to have some of both.
@ MrsBump The Queen has done more work than most people, how can you say she has never worked except during the war? I have always worked, and I know that the queen has worked much harder than me.
i’m sure she has worked more than you and i considering her age, but has she worked more than my grandparents for example ?
I doubt it. My grandfather had 3 jobs (sold bread in the early morning, worked as caretaker during the day, and then mended clothing at night) and my grandmother two (sold coal in the market in the morning and then as a maid to the wealthy white english folks 6 days a week) in order to support their family. They were citizens of the commonwealth and before our independence my country was directly under her and her father’s colonial rule. My family was hardly the exception, having multiple jobs was common in those days for the poor.
So for perspective, it is important to compare her life to that of her contemporaries.
Mrs. Bump, I get what you are saying. She is very dutiful and responsible and she she has also been well rewarded for it.
@Mrs Bump I totally disagree you seem to think that the only valuable ‘work’ is the type that involves carrying coal on your back or chopping wood. Would you say that your grandparents worked harder than Einstein or Stephen Hawking?
You first asserted that she was extremely hard working, to which i responded that her contemporaries had a much harder life.
Now in terms of valuable work, all work is valuable, whether you are einstein or a garbage collector, it depends on your opinion of what valuable means.
If the monarchy magically disappeared tomorrow, most people wouldn’t even notice, however if the garbage collectors disappeared, i’m pretty sure the consequences would be felt pretty soon.
Now whether my grandparents have worked harder than einstein or hawkings, i wouldn’t compare with hawkings given his illness but i would say that living in a third world african country in the early 20th century and working all hours of the day to put food on the table, yes they probably did work harder.
The people who run charities in the UK (and those who benefit from those charities) would certainly notice if the monarchy disappeared tomorrow. (And the rest of us would too: HM has a constitutional role to play).
It’s interesting though that the in-law the Queen is closest with, Edward’s wife Sophie, is the one who had a full blown career before marrying into the family. It’s not surprising she’d also appreciate Meghan’s accomplishments as well.
I almost wonder if there is an aspect of….jealousy? Not jealousy. But I wonder if the queen enjoys Sophie and now Meghan because she can talk to them about a world she has never known and maybe she likes to wonder what she would have done had she not been the heir to the throne and then the queen. It’s gotta be weird to know from a fairly young age that you are going to be queen and while you have some choices, your life is fairly mapped out for you. And then to actually become queen at 25, that also changes your expectations for your life.
so I wonder if the queen sort of enjoys talking to women who had opportunities she never had (but of course she had a lot of other opportunities.)
I disagree to some extent. Obviously she’s never had what you or I would consider to be a normal working life, but in the context of what the british royals are supposed to do for “work”, I think she takes the concept of her duty towards the country and the commonwealth very seriously.
Mrs Bump you are always the most measured person on these threads. I love your thoughts on things, always agree.
@AUD
I’m sure she takes her role as guardian of the monarchy very seriously. This was not the point that i was disputing but rather the notion that she appreciates meghan or sophie more because they used to have jobs.
While i’m sure she does appreciate them, i’m not sure their former jobs made much of a difference.
@mynameispearl – aww thank you 🙂
From the things I’ve read and docs I’ve watch, QEII seems to have always been a bit self conscious that she didn’t have a higher level of education than what she got. So I think she might appreciate, even admire, women who went to university and worked afterwards. Sophie, Edward’s wife, did so and by all accounts the Queen is very fond of Sophie.
So I can see the Queen admiring Meghan who did the same (and who double majored at that).
Is it just me or are they maybe extra embracing her since she literally only has her mom…who is all the way in America?! I bet they like her a lot but I bet they also feel for her the way her ‘family’ has sold her out and continue to do so.
This might very well play a part of it, plus she literally gave up her career, country and life for Harry and a life of royal duties which I’m sure HM and Prince Charles appreciate that and are trying to make her assimilation a bit easier.
I wonder if there are any other nice, single, handsome, and wealthy men or women in English speaking countries other than the US that want to whisk a nice American off of their feet and get married in a romantic whirlwind to take them from this continuing national nightmare. Asking for a friend. The American in question is clean, attractive, well educated, can cook, and is emotionally and physically flexible. Can also drive a stick shift and is eager to learn the metric system.
LMAO I love this. 😀 Can I be a wing woman hoping to get in on this plan as well?
We can look for a sibling pair. It will be fabulous.
lol! 😆
If this happens I will happily read the book!
Zigzags I think you have summed up my feelings of late as well. And d**n if that English countryside doen’t look so lovely right now.
Countryside won’t look so lovely when it’s raining 90% of the time 😬 but this week and next might be OUR summer
In some pics The Queen looks at Meghan like a grandma would do. It’s really sweet.
Well the Queen has a soft spot for Harry so she is bound too be very interested in who he has chosen as a partner. I am sure that the Queen also tried as best as she knows how to try to fill in the void after the loss of his mother, so she will really want to feel sure that Harry has somebody to be a soul mate.
Melania, I noticed that too.
And it continues to remind me of the stray comment Harry made (and was a bit attacked for)….”the family she has never known” —- I mean, considering what we know now about the batshite mad Markles…….
Thank you so much for a fluffy, feel-good article!
Ditto!
I may casually find a way to print this article out and leave it somewhere in the office. Friday I was forced to listen my around the corner casually racist cubicle neighbor go on a very long and loud tirade about how disrespectful Megan is with her messy buns and exposed shoulders. That she will never be accepted by the royal family and KATE is the real people’s princess. MEGAN WILL NEVER BE BETTER THAN KATE and the queeen knows this and will NEVER accept her! Yup I am definitely going to leave this in her printer.
I don’t like Meghan’s messy updos, but she herself is a class act.
betsy you do realize she’s a person of color with curlier hair fighting to straighten it to appear -non frizzy …its hard…. lets not call ethnic hair messy please. thank
Of course it’s a lot about image. I think the BRF learned a lot with Diana and don’t want to repeat that mistake. She was so young and naive when she got married and left to her own devices with little guidance and didn’t feel very included in the family. When she and Charles separated, she was vindictive and blindsided the family with her Martin Bashir interview and the tell-all book. The Queen wants to avoid that and have Meghan feel included. I think her being a biracial divorced American woman also means she wants to avoid the Wallis Simpson comparisons (who was white but overall rejected by the family) and wants the BRF to be viewed as a modern, evolving institution.
But she also clearly likes Meghan and wants her to feel welcomed and part of the family. I have never seen the Queen smile as much as in the presence of Meghan. She is apparently also the Dog Whisperer. I also learned the Queen apparently doesn’t put much stock in housebreaking her dogs hahaha.
I don’t care if it is performative (which I do not think it is; Her Maj doesn’t seem to put on a face in that regard and she looks way too pleased with Meghan) – if it’s a message to racists everywhere to shut their traps and let racism die, good.
This post is such a breath of fresh air. I love the friendship and love between the Queen and Meghan! My take on this is that Meghan is loving that her love for Harry has also given her a family unit that is lacking with her birth family. Her mother is delightful, but the remainder of her relatives leave much to be desired. The Queen seems more animated and happy than I’ve ever seen her before Meghan came upon the scene; the love between Meghan and Harry really appears to delight HRM. Let love rule!
I guess now Harry’s Christmas comments about “the family she never had” are being put into perspective, non? I guess now Vonnie gets what Harry meant.
Yes — I just posted a similar comment above before reading yours. I think we definitely have a fresh perspective on this now.
They should be, if people are smart. That Harry didn’t back down from that comment when people tried to force him to AND that Harry never met her dad were all clear signals IMO on what was UP regarding her family.
Harry only met, and talked enthusiastically, about Doria. That’s it. Any one else of Meghan’s blood family who were close to her are dead (her grandmother, her great aunt). And you can see it in how smily HM, Charles, Camilla and even the York girls were when talking with Meghan at Ascot.