Meghan Markle’s 3-Word Rejection of Advice ‘Hardly Mattered’ to ‘Surprised’ Queen Elizabeth, Author Says
TL;DR:
- Meghan Markle met with Queen Elizabeth II early on in her relationship with Prince Harry, according to an excerpt from Robert Jobson’s Our King book.
- Meghan Markle allegedly dismissed Queen Elizabeth’s suggestion of turning to Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, for “support and advice.”
- “I’ve got Harry,” is what Meghan Markle told the queen, per the excerpt.
A new book claims Meghan Markle didn’t take Queen Elizabeth II’s suggestion on where to get “support and advice.” In Our King, author Robert Jobson details how the Duchess of Sussex rejected the idea with three words. Plus, why it “hardly mattered” to the queen.
Meghan Markle had tea with Queen Elizabeth after she started dating Prince Harry
After meeting the Duke of Sussex in July 2016, Meghan met other British royals, including the queen. Per a Mail Online excerpt from Our King: Charles III: The Man and the Monarch Revealed, the two had tea.
“At their first meeting, the queen had tea with Meghan without even realising [sic] she was mixed race,” he wrote. “Used to being briefed in advance whenever she met someone new, the monarch explained later — in conversation with a member of her close circle — that she simply hadn’t been told.”
The author continued, saying if the queen had been aware beforehand it wouldn’t have matter. “Of course, had she known then that Meghan’s mother [Doria Ragland] was black,” Jobson said, “the queen — who had counted Nelson Mandela as one of her dear friends — would not have been in the least concerned.”
“In fact,” he continued,” she was “pleased that Harry had at last found love and warmly welcomed Meghan into the royal family.”
Meghan dismissed the queen’s idea of talking to Sophie: ‘I’ve got Harry’
Jobson continued, saying Queen Elizabeth reacted with surprise when Meghan didn’t immediately take her up on the suggestion to talk to Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh.
“When Her Majesty suggested she should turn to Sophie, Countess of Wessex, for support and advice, Meghan dismissed the idea, saying: ‘I’ve got Harry,’” the author wrote.
Meghan’s response “surprised” Queen Elizabeth, “who had doubtless expected her well-meant suggestion to be taken up with gratitude.” However, the three-word dismissal “hardly mattered.”
Why? According to Our King, the queen thought Meghan “had the potential to be a great asset to the monarchy.”
“The actress’s confident presentation skills, combined with her black heritage, convinced the queen that she would be a great champion for young women as she worked alongside Harry in his role as a Youth Ambassador with the Commonwealth Youth Programme,” Jobson said.
Meanwhile, Meghan, he wrote, “was said to be ‘hugely excited’ about this new venture.” Furthermore, sources told the author she “subsequently made a diligent study of the Commonwealth and was seen poring over her notes.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s behavior later ‘mystified’ Queen Elizabeth
In the same excerpt, Jobson claimed the queen “eventually tired” of Harry’s “outbursts” regarding the family. Harry’s “volatile exchanges” with Prince William “wearied” the queen first. Then came Harry and Meghan’s public criticisms of the monarchy and royal family.
“At that point, the queen was frankly mystified by the couple’s” behavior, Jobson wrote. She even called it “‘quite mad,’” and “came to believe, however, that her grandson was ‘so consumed’ by his love for his wife that it was ‘clouding his judgment.’”
Not only that, but the queen “felt let down.” The late monarch, who died in September 2022, was “disappointed” Harry chose to “abandon his royal duty.” She also viewed Harry and Meghan’s stepping back from royal life as a “missed opportunity.”
New King hits shelves on April 13.
