Has the Queen gone to extra lengths to welcome Meghan Markle into the royal family? One royal expert believes that the two women have a close bond, which is different than the relationship between the Queen and Kate Middleton.
The Queen’s ‘unusual effort’
There’s no denying that joining the royal family has to be daunting, but when Markle and Prince Harry were married into the family it appears she had some help in making the transition.
Royal commentator Duncan Larcombe told Fabulous Digital: “Meghan seems to have forged a particularly close relationship with the Queen if you compare that to when other people have married into the royal family.”
He continued, explaining: “The Queen last year in the first few months of Meghan’s entry into the royal family, made a particular and slightly unusual effort to welcome her in. Unusual in the context of the trip on the royal train to do a royal engagement [in Cheshire]. I’m 99 percent sure she’s never afforded that offer to Kate.”
Why has the Queen been so welcoming to Markle?
One of the theories behind why the Queen has welcomed Markle with extra attention is so that she has an easier time than Princess Diana did.
Larcombe noted that there have been times when the Queen “obviously requested” that Markle join her for a public appearance, believing it to “signal the fact that she was welcoming her into the royal family.”
He added, “Possibly because Meghan very much burst onto the
scene in a way Kate obviously didn’t. Everyone got to know Kate and the family
long before they got engaged.”
He then drew some parallels to Markle and Princess Diana, explaining: “Also possibly because of the lessons of the past where Princess Diana pretty much felt like an outsider in the royal family.”
Diana never felt included, according to Patrick Jepson, who served as her private secretary from 1988 to 1996. Jepson told Yahoo’s The Royal Box: “Both from her own childhood and from her experience of marriage, she felt that she was an outsider, that she had been excluded.”
How the Queen’s relationship with Markle compares to Middleton
Is the Queen’s relationship with Markle different than it is with Middleton? Of course, royal fans take note of how the Queen interacts with both of her grandsons’ wives and some believe the Queen might be closer with Markle than Middleton.
One expert claimed that the Queen “doesn’t have an intimate
relationship” with Middleton, but that Markle “makes her laugh.”
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, shared with Fabulous Digital: “The Queen admires Kate tremendously but does not have an intimate relationship with her as they don’t have much in common.”
She
continued: “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.”
That lack of common interest could make their relationship less dynamic, as Seward noted: “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.”
In
contrast, Seward noted, “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.”
