The late Queen Elizabeth II “was on to” Meghan Markle at the very start of her relationship with Prince Harry, a new royal book has claimed. Meghan began dating Harry in the summer of 2016, and the couple tied the knot less than two years later.
Veteran political reporter Susan Page has revealed that the late Queen, who died aged 96 in 2022, was sceptical of the former working actress at the very start of their relationship. In her book titled The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History, Page shared that the late Queen grew “wary” of Meghan.
She wrote: “Her Majesty had become wary of Meghan as an opportunist – was ‘on to her from the start,’ the aide said — and one with public relations skills that left the palace’s outdated press operation in the dust.”
Writing in his new royal book, Betrayal: Power, Deceit And The Fight For The Future Of The Royal Family, esteemed author Tom Bower claims that Andrew appeared to feel the same way towards Meghan.
Bower wrote about a car ride shared between Andrew and Harry as they arrived at Westminster Abbey for the King’s Coronation.
The awkward atmosphere was due to reports that Andrew had dubbed Meghan an “opportunist”.
Bower wrote: “In the driving rain, Harry arrived at the abbey with Andrew. The disgraced Prince was, at the time, still refusing the King’s order to move to Frogmore from Royal Lodge, the 30-bedroom mansion he occupied with his ex-wife, Sarah.
“Relations between the uncle and his nephew were not good. In some accounts, Andrew had scathingly dismissed Meghan as an ‘opportunist’.”
Meghan and Harry stepped down as senior working royals in 2020, with the couple now residing in the US.
The couple live with their children, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four, in Montecito.