Queen Elizabeth’s Emotional 7 Word Reaction to Harry and Meghan’s Departure Before Lilibet’s Birthday Surprise
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had plans on the day of their daughter Lilibet’s first birthday that didn’t include her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth. The monarch reportedly had a special surprise in store for her great-granddaughter Lilibet Diana. But she soon realized Harry and his family had already departed for America, leaving the monarch to utter this emotional seven-word reaction to a longtime employee.
Queen Elizabeth was ‘confused’ by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s sudden departure
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle celebrated their daughter Lilibet Diana’s first birthday with a family picnic at their former Frogmore Cottage home. However, on the actual day of her birth, the couple departed for America. Queen Elizabeth reportedly wasn’t informed.
Express reports that one of the queen’s former footmen, Paul Burrell, said the monarch was upset that the couple had left for America shortly after the family event. Burrell claimed Elizabeth was reportedly “confused” and “offended” by Harry and Meghan’s sudden departure.
Burrell said: “On Lilibet’s first birthday, the queen didn’t see her. She saw her the day before.”
He explained that the monarch invited the couple for tea on the day of Lilibet’s birthday. “But on her birthday, the queen had a birthday cake made with one candle in it. And they never turned up. That candle was never lit.”
The queen reportedly asked Burrell, “What do you mean they’ve gone?” He added, “Well, I don’t understand anyone that could do that. Not her family, why would you want to?”
The monarch’s loyal former footman added that Elizabeth “was devoid of jealousy, anger, envy, all those traits that we associate with other people she didn’t have. She was just a very simple soul. I wish the world could have known her the way I knew her.”
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle appeared to have heartfelt relationships with Queen Elizabeth
Prince Harry reportedly always had a close relationship with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth. The monarch also tried to encourage a close relationship with Meghan Markle.
During Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s engagement interview with the BBC, Meghan spoke respectfully of Queen Elizabeth. Meghan praised Harry for his incredible bond with his grandmother and shared her feelings about the monarch.
“It’s incredible, I think, you know, to be able to meet her through his lens, not just with his honor and respect for her as the monarch, but the love that he has for her as his grandmother, all of those layers have been so important for me so that when I met her I had such a deep understanding and of course incredible respect for being able to have that time with her. And she’s an incredible woman,” Meghan said.
Subsequently, Harry told Katie Couric in 2012 that Elizabeth was “very, very normal and very relaxed. She obviously takes a huge interest in what we all do, and that’s her children as well as her grandchildren.”
Harry added, “She wants to know which charities we’re supporting, how life is going, and our jobs and such. She actually has a vested interest in what we do.”
When was the last time Prince Harry and Meghan Markle saw the queen?
The last time Meghan Markle and Prince Harry saw Queen Elizabeth was in June 2022 to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee. The queen reportedly then invited the Sussexes and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, to spend the summer with her at Balmoral.
Before that event, Harry and Meghan stopped at Windsor in early 2022 on their way to The Hague, the Netherlands, for the Invictus Games. Prior, it had been two years since Meghan was in the United Kingdom. She was last in the UK at the Commonwealth Day Service in early 2020.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left their roles as senior royals in March 2020. Queen Elizabeth responded by publishing a statement on the royal family website which read, “Harry, Meghan, and Archie will always be much-loved members of my family. I recognize the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life.”
