Meghan Markle and Princess Diana Described Their First Time Meeting the Queen in Very Different Ways
Many people like to draw parallels between Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana. While the two ladies do share some similarities, they have also had vastly different life experiences.
For example, Meghan and Diana had different recollection when it comes to meeting Queen Elizabeth for the first time.
Meghan Markle had a positive experience meeting Queen Elizabeth
Meghan first met Her Majesty when she was still dating Prince Harry.
According to the biography Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, which had contributions from Meghan, the meeting took place in Buckingham Palace. The queen was only supposed to meet Meghan for one hour, but things went so well that Meghan and the queen went five minutes over the allotted time.
In Meghan and Harry’s engagement interview, Harry also shared that Her Majesty’s famous corgis took a liking to Meghan instantly. He said, “For the last 33 years, I’ve been barked at, and this one walks in, absolutely nothing, just wagging tails.”
During a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan also talked about her fondness for Her Majesty. “The queen has always been wonderful to me,” she said, as reported by Harper’s Bazaar.
Princess Diana was more nervous when meeting the queen
It has been said that Diana’s first time meeting Queen Elizabeth was at Balmoral. She had dated Prince Charles for just a short time at that point.
As Diana shared with Andrew Morton in the book Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words, she was “terrified” about the experience.
“I was terrified—sh**ing bricks,” she said. “I was frightened because I had never stayed at Balmoral and I wanted to get it right. The anticipation was worse than actually being there.”
However, Diana said things were “all right” after the initial nervousness went away.
Does Queen Elizabeth have a better relationship with Meghan Markle?
It’s well-known to many royal followers that Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana had a complicated relationship. While Her Majesty supported Diana in some ways, the late princess also accused her mother-in-law of abandoning her when she needed help.
For example, Diana once recalled going to the queen for advice on how to save her marriage. She explained, “I went to the top lady and said: ‘I don’t know what I should do.’ She said: ‘I don’t know what you should do.’ And that was it. That was ‘help.’”
Some fans believe Queen Elizabeth has a better relationship with Meghan. After all, Meghan was given the chance to accompany the queen on an engagement just after she got married—a privilege that isn’t easy to receive. Queen Elizabeth also showed support for Meghan and Harry after the two fo them stepped down as senior royals.
However, some experts believe Her Majesty and Meghan’s relationship may be a bit more complicated than these anecdotes let on. Royal reporter Dan Wootton wrote for The Sun in 2018 that the queen allegedly warned Harry about Meghan’s “behavior and attitude” after an incident popped up during their wedding planning.
Additionally, a body language expert analyzed the Oprah interview and shared that Meghan’s body language could contradict some warm words she said about Queen Elizabeth.
