Revealed: Meghan Markle’s Wedding Day Gesture That Upset Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth II was 'not amused' with Meghan Markle asking a then-Prince Charles to give her away down the wedding aisle.
The weeks preceding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's May 2018 wedding were "intense" and "drama-filled," but according to the new book, My Mother and I by royal author Ingrid Seward, the late Queen Elizabeth II was not immune to the "nonsense" either.
Seward shared how Her late Majesty "was not comfortable" with "numerous" elements of the marriage service.
Queen Elizabeth II reportedly wanted Thomas Markle to walk his daughter down the aisle.
The scribe revealed: "The Queen was not comfortable with the Prince of Wales standing in for Meghan's father, Thomas Markle, and was similarly concerned about a 96-year-old Prince Philip walking down the aisle without a stick, having had a hip replacement only five weeks before."
Harry and Meghan's much-hyped nuptials were the "last major royal wedding" Elizabeth II and her long-serving consort attended. The late monarch and Prince Philip were both said "to be delighted" by the union at the time, but Seward's book further reveals how Philip thought of Meghan as "the new Wallis Simpson".
Some analysts in 2018 even claimed then-Prince Charles was also initially "uncomfortable" about giving Meghan away, but relented.
"I asked him to, and I think he knew it was coming, and he immediately said, 'Yes, of course, I’ll do whatever Meghan needs, and I’m here to support you," the Duke of Sussex revealed later that year in the documentary, Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70.
Then-Prince Charles walked his daughter-in-law-to-be Meghan Markle down the aisle of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Meghan seemed to be all for ditching her dad, who suffered a heart attack shortly before the wedding and left Thomas claiming that he and his royal rebel daughter haven't spoken since. However, the HRH-to-be did have one request of her own regarding the future king giving her away.
Author Robert Hardman wrote: "The reply, according to one friend, was not quite what he [Charles] was expecting: 'Can we meet halfway?' Here was an indicator that this was no blushing bride, but a confident, independent woman determined to make a grand entrance on her own."
Apparently, Elizabeth II also felt that the dress was "too white" to adorn a divorcee in a church wedding.
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Queen Elizabeth II and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attended only one joint engagement in June 2018.
The monarch, who reigned over Britain and the Commonwealth for 70.5 years, also felt uncomfortable with the aesthetics and tone of the wedding, including the "long sermon" from American Archbishop, Michael Curry, which became one of the praised standouts of the "modern royal wedding."
Elizabeth II and the Duchess of Sussex would go on to attend their sole joint engagement with one another on June 14, 2018. Her Majesty would be left "severely disappointed" when Harry and Meghan decided to ditch the monarchy and Britain in early 2020. After the Queen's death on September 8, 2022, and the automatic accession of King Charles III, the former actress would go on to chide her late grandmother-in-law with a mock curtsey in the late 2022 Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan.
Harry and Meghan were also 'photo op gold' during their official wedding reception during the evening of May 19, 2018, Frogmore House at Windsor Castle.
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Daily Mirror reported on the expert opinions.