Ingrid Seward has been talking all week about the relationships the Queen has with her grandchildren. Big surprise, Seward claims that the Queen’s favorite grandchildren are Princess Anne’s adult children, Zara and Peter Phillips. The Queen apparently enjoys how unpretentious they are. Prince Charles is also said to have a special bond with Zara and she’s something of the daughter he never had. But what about the Queen’s relationships with Prince Harry, Prince William and their wives? Well, Seward has more “insights.”
One expert has claimed the Queen, 93, “doesn’t have an intimate relationship” with Kate Middleton, 37 – but Meghan Markle “makes her laugh”. Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, told Fabulous Digital: “The Queen admires Kate tremendously but does not have an intimate relationship with her as they don’t have much in common. I think the Queen and Kate have a more serious relationship as obviously Kate holds all the Queen’s hope for the future and she would not want to do anything to upset that. I can’t see what she would have in common with Kate apart from her royal duties. The common bond with Kate would be her children and I can’t imagine the Queen spending too much time talking about them; she is a very shy woman, which is why a common subject like horses is so helpful.”
While her relationship with Kate may be slightly more formal, Her Maj does have a touching bond with the Duchess of Sussex, 37, who officially joined the family last May when she married Prince Harry, 34. Ingrid said: “With Meghan she would tread very carefully and do her best to make her feel at home. They have a love of dogs in common and Meghan knows how to make her laugh. The Queen has an acerbic wit and of course is an excellent mimic so she can be very entertaining – but she never forgets she is Queen even with her grandchildren.”
And while the Queen is close to her grandsons, Prince William, 37, and Prince Harry, they don’t see that much of each other, according to the royal editor. Ingrid explained: “William is different as he is her grandchild and she took the trouble to get to know him when he was at school at Eton. Before that she saw very little of him as he was at the mercy of his warring parents and their divided lives. It is the same with Harry. But Harry has a quick wit and sense of humour which she likes so she gets along well with him when she sees him.”
I thought it was established several years ago that Prince Harry was her “favorite,” and that’s why the Queen gave him more leeway? I’ll buy that Harry and the Queen don’t spend a ton of time together, ditto for William and the Queen. Once Meghan came onto the scene and the Queen invited Meghan to do a solo event with her just after the Sussexes’ wedding, I developed a theory that the Queen would have done that with Kate too, Her Maj would have made the effort to personally show Kate the royal ropes, but Kate and William were happy enough to do their own thing for years, away from the Queen. Anyway… all of this is going to be moot at some point, when Charles becomes king and then everyone will be vying to promote their relationships with HIM. That’s the longer game, and I think Charles is so fond of Harry and Meghan.
Photos courtesy of WENN and Avalon Red.
We all know what a shining beacon of accuracy Ingrid is.
It’s odd how this site treats her – every single word she says should be discounted as “something she just thought up”. Obviously, when it’s something like “The Queen doesn’t think her grandchildren should be beheaded at the Tower” then it’s… sort of accurate, obviously, but it’s just saying words? I don’t know why this site thinks it’s even worthy of publishing.
Reference Meghan’s ring. Ingrid was all over Meghan for altering “historic” royal jewelry, then we hear from multiple sources that it was Harry’s idea.
I don’t see why she’d be very close with Megs because she is brand new to the family and it takes a while for bonds to form. That being said, I think a bond should have already formed with Kate. Whatever their relationship I would think the Queen would be hands on instead of hands off because Kate is the hope for the future. So maybe someone more knowledgeable can explain.
And yeah unpretentious maybe how to endear oneself to her so I can see why Wills and Kate haven’t.
I disagree. Sometimes bonds can grow quickly. It’s not always a slow going, It depends on the people.
I think the Queen, being who she is, is even slower to form bonds. I don’t blame her. At her level, people have their own agenda.
If the RF is depending on Kate for the future they should just throw in the towel now!
I can see them growing closer, faster if they’re spending time together at Windsor on weekends. That’s partly why Edward, Sophie, and their kids are so close with the Queen and Philip. They’re home is at Windsor, they ride horses with the Queen often.
Makes me wonder if the Queen sees lack of much effort, then she begins to think: why bother????? Too bad she can’t cut them out of the will. That would be one way to get them to suck up and putting in some effort.
The Queen isn’t supposed to mentor Kate. That would be Philip and Camilla’s role. So no, the Queen doesn’t see Kate as the hope for the future.
I’m just commenting over here that grandparents shouldn’t be praised for having “took the trouble” to get to know their grandchildren. Like, wow.
I hope that’s this journalist’s poor choice of words and not what the Queen actually thinks.
It might be what she actually thinks. It’s very typical of her class. But it’s not, you know, as harsh as it might come off? There’s just a long tradition in that particular echelon of British society for parenting to be so very hands-off, and so of course grandchildren are kind of bonus quests, entirely optional.
It’s not JUST a family, after all. It is very much a business that they’re born into.
Philip was known to spend lots of time with Beatrice and Eugenie, again it could be because they spent a lot of time at Royal Lodge at Windsor.
I don’t see the queen being especially close to any of her grandchildren. She is busy, they’re busy – it’s not a typical grandparent relationship.
If she is shy, though, I can see her enjoying Meghan or Zara more than Kate bc they seem more outgoing and she may appreciate that.
I think both Meghan and Zara are the kind of outgoing that’s calming, if that makes sense? I’m pretty shy, really hate being in social situations on my own. There are certain kinds of outgoing that are almost off-putting to me, while others are that kind of warm, friendly, but not pushy outgoing that really let you relax around them. I’ve always gotten that kind of vibe from Meghan.
I’m the same way, I find myself drawn to very outgoing people for that reason.
Peter and Zara are the Queen’s first grandchildren and the children of her only daughter. It’s not unusual for her to be closer to them because often the mother is the one who controls access with the grandparents. That said, she and Phillip were seen with William and Harry a fair bit when they were young and she was there for them when Diana died.
It’s Ingrid Seward so it’s all made up anyway. We could come up with something just as plausible.
I’d also buy that, similar to Kate and Meghan, the Queen is more interested in working relationships with the key members of The Firm. I would imagine it makes big, public events easier (no awkward body language like Will and Harry) if that’s their main time together.
A comment about QE and Harry’s relationship – I watched a special on Netflix named “Elizabeth at 90” put together by the Firm to celebrate QE’s long tenure. In the show, Harry was interviewed and mentioned his Grandmother was essentially his boss. I can see, after Harry being in the military, how his relationship with QE could have changed and perhaps cooled off as he became more mature and took on more responsibilities.
It makes sense. The Queen is still busy with her work and other things she does behind the scenes, and as grown ups in their 30s, now with Children, it would be hard to spend loads of time together. Seems about right.
Man, Queen or not, I’m sorry but if I were the grand daughter in law, I would just have to squeeze her and hug her and touch her soft hands, so I’d want to talk to her and be around her as much as I could. I miss my grandmother so much and I am drawn to grandmotherly figures now, etiquette and formalities be damned.
I guess the queen should be glad I’m not for her. Lol.
I will say this. Even though she is queen she is still human and deep down there has to be a part of her that misses out on that.
It wouldn’t surprise me if she weren’t that close with Harry and William. I’m sure that they hold some of the pain from the loss of their mother towards her as well, not just their father. It’s not surprising that Zara and Phillip are her favorite – it’s obvious that Anne was always her favorite, as well as Andrew.
It wasn’t like it was hidden at the time how much she hated Diana, and even on the tiny chance it was, they’ve had 20+ years of reading how much their grandparents hated their mother.
Exactly! It’s crazy how people gloss over that fact. The Queen and Phillip both despised her and it was no secret.
Anne was never anyone’s favorite. She’s the only daughter, but Andrew is the Queen’s favorite while Edward is Phillip’s.
I doubt the Queen ever hated Diana, even if she resented the hell out of her and the negative impact she had. She’s never hated Fergie and Fergie has never stopped bringing scandal to the royal family. HM invited her for every Christmas and hid her at Wood Farm so the girls could have Christmas with both parents.
Phillip never hated her either. He was her counselor, the one she wrote to and she cherished his advice.
Why on earth would the Queen admire Kate immensely because they have royal duties in common…?
She wouldn’t want to do anything to upset her relationship with Kate because Kate holds “all the Queen’s hope for the future”?
Sure, Jan.
@Maria, did not get that one either unless it is referring to William and the Norfolk Rose bush. If the Rose bush cultivation story is true then maybe the Queen admires Kate for the putting the Royal Family ahead of her personal feelings in a way that Diana did not. This is the only reason I can come up with as to why QEII “admires” Cathy Cambridge.
Yeah, it’s possible she admires how Kate looks the other way with William cheating the same way the Queen looked the other way with Philip.
But I feel like that would be about it…
I don’t get Kate being the hope for the future. Did she get a promotion from future consort to future monarch?
I thought that was a reference to her being the mother of the Future King. She is raising the Future King and the spare. They probably don’t want a repeat of the Diana situation. The Diana interview showed that a mother of the Future King has the potential to um, you know, freak the royal family out if she wants to. And, yeah, I know Kate isn’t the same of Diana and wouldn’t do that because she lacks x, y, and z, but DIana showed that a Queen consort and mother of the Future King does hold some degree of power if she wants to exert it….and until the Queen is like “Screw this. I can’t take it anymore. You’re getting divorced!”
and of course the queen rests “all hope for the future” on kate, future queen CONSORT, and not william, who will actually be the monarch!
I like that tweed dress Kate is wearing in the middle picture, and I LOVE her hair there. It looks so much more chic. I wish both Kate and Meghan would go shorter.
Absolutely agree….especially on the hair length.
She seems quite warm toward Zara & Harry in photos. Harry is in tons of pictures making her laugh. I think there is a closeness there. Also isn’t Harry close to Prince Philip??? I think Ingrid Seward is making it up as she goes along. Somehow I can buy that William & Kate have more formal interactions with the Queen BUT she’s spent time with William showing him the ropes his entire childhood. U remember interview quotes in which Harry recalled that William had to Go meet with Granny because he will be king someday. This isn’t a particularly demonstrative family anyway, but I think there’s more warmth between them than Seward suggests
I think the Queen loves a bad boy. Back in the 70s she seemed to give Andrew more leeway as she does with Harry. In part, because they are not the up and coming heirs to be King, but they both have a charm (Andrew wasn’t always this creepy, shady yes) that neither Charles nor William have or can afford to have.
ITA. I think the Queen likes people who can be a bit naughty and make her laugh since she deals with formality and seriousness all the time. Especially in their younger days, Philip and Andrew were naughty and charming as is Harry. I enjoyed seeing pictures of her and Mike Tindall at Ascot: he seems to be of the naughty persuasion and doesn’t take the pomp and circumstance too seriously.
Randy Andy is her favorite, while Edward is Philip’s, Anne get on well with both of her parents, maybe it’s her no nonsense personality and love of 🐴🐴🐴🐴.
Huh, I always thought Philip despised poor Edward since he washed out of the Royal Marines in the 1980s.
Only Phillip’s favorite could have gotten away with that. It was Edward’s way of rebelling, instead of telling his father flat out that he didn’t want to be in the military. Take on the most difficult military training and wash out.
…and poor Charles got a mother who was cold to him, she shook his 8-year-old hand upon returning from an extended overseas trip and a father who was cruel to him disguised as ‘toughening him up,’ while sending him to a boys school one step up from a reformatory. Seeing how close his parents are to all of his siblings has to be hard on him.
Yep, that. She’s not close to Will and Harry, because she’s not close to Charles. Given his childhood and the relationship he had with his parents (and their relationship to each other, at the time), it’s a wonder he ended up happily married at all.
Hopefully once the Queen dies we can have a talk about the relevancy of monarchy in our country.
With a messy AF Brexit coming it will be long overdue.
Harry and TQ look very close in this great video challenging the Obamas:
https://youtu.be/KuNcSp2T4Lw
LOVED that video – thanks for posting. Gawd I miss the Obamas…
Hahaha this is so cute. Ah, I miss those days.
Ingrid Seward is an idiot. Constantly spewing garbage for clicks.
I like how in one breath Ingrid is saying the Queen is very shy, and in the next breath the Queen is a rollicking mimic entertaining everyone with her wit.
Is this Ingrid person close personal friends with them? No? Then why is she talking like she is and why is anyone listening to her?
What is weird though is that for years Seward has been viewed as one of the, if not the main, mouthpieces for Charles and Camilla. If true and C & C did not like Seward’s bashing Meghan then you would think they would/could put a stop to it.
I can totally see the queen being closer to the grandkids for whom she’s not also “the boss.” And I agree she would absolutely have taken kate under her wing sooner and I think Kate actually would have been fine with that, it was William who wasn’t interested. TBH, I’ve always thought that Will feels much less of a need to seek favor and influence with the Queen and Prince Charles because he knows that no matter what happens, he’ll inherit the Duchys of Cornwall, then Lancaster (tons of $$ that will be his outright). All of the rest of them, including H&M, are much more reliant on the monarch’s good graces to maintain their lifestyle.
The Queen is totally closer with horse loving Zara than any other kids. But I mean I would be too, she’s definitely the most chill and fun of the whole bunch. No expert needed.
I don’t care who the Queen prefers, just here for her cool and colorful getups.
👑🇬🇧
I get that Ah ma vibe from the Queen and Harry and Meghan as the leads from Crazy Rich Asians lol.
QE wasn’t particularly interested in her own children when they were small. Some people have a natural affinity for little kids & others don’t. I doubt she has much interest in any of her great-grandchildren, except maybe George as a future king, if the monarchy even lasts long enough for that to happen.
Ingrid sewer knows f…. all.
Elizabeth and Philip were said (by their own child) to have been emotionally distant parents. If the Queen was not close to her own children, why should she be close to grandchildren (or spouses of grandchildren) or great-grandchildren? This speculation of who she’s “closer to” seems like b.s. that people make up to suit their own narrative, because the royal family won’t call them out on it.
Many books I have read about Queen Elizabeth have mentioned that she is “an excellent mimic”. And the above quoted article mentions it again.
Could someone of the British persuasion please clarify this for me? Is being “an excellent mimic” something that would be of value to a monarch for any particular reason? Who would the Queen be mimicking, that it is mentioned in articles even as she has reached the age of 90?
Is it snarky mimicking? Humorous mimicking?
Many books I have read about Queen Elizabeth have mentioned that she is “an excellent mimic”. And the above quoted article mentions it again.
Could someone of the British persuasion please clarify this for me? Is being “an excellent mimic” something that would be of value to a monarch for any particular reason? Who would the Queen be mimicking, that it is mentioned in articles even as she has reached the age of 90?
Is it snarky mimicking? Humorous mimicking?
It’s just a characteristic that many people don’t have, so it’s kind of interesting that the Queen (who is always exquisitely behaved in public) can imitate people well in private. As for who it is, it’s probably mutual acquaintances and/or famous people. I’ve always imagined that she does a very good Margaret Thatcher.
My great aunt once had the Queen over for tea (she met her several times due to her husband being part of the RAF) and said that the Queen really knows how to mimic politicians, well known figure (not snarky) and has a wicked sense of humour.