Does anybody have a better poker face than Queen Elizabeth?
She has been one of the most powerful people in the world for an entire lifetime. At this point, even a stray look or word from her can disrupt events on a global stage. As such, she keeps a polite smile and often keeps her true thoughts to herself.
We can imagine that’s hard, though, when she encounters family drama. And in recent years, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have arguably been the biggest sources of Royal Family drama, especially after they stepped down from royal duties and left the country altogether.
We know how this move has caused a rift between the couple and figures like Prince Charles and Prince William. But how does the Queen really feel about these two and their unceremonious exit? Keep reading to discover the answer!
The truth behind Megxit
When Megxit first happened, the narrative around the world was that Meghan was dragging Prince Harry away from his duties and away from his country. The fact that Harry married an American celebrity had already caused a minor scandal. And that same celebrity actually snatching an English prince away and bringing him to America intensified that scandal in every way.
However, the truth behind “Megxit” is that it was actually Harry’s idea. As one source shared with the Sun, “The reality is Harry drove that decision. He wanted to move in the direction that they did and had been considering it for more than a year.”
In many ways, this explains why the rift with Prince Charles and Prince William never really went away. Those two weren’t necessarily mad at Meghan, as so many headlines claimed. Rather, they were angry that Harry drove this unprecedented decision.
Of course, their anger at the time of Megxit was nothing compared to their anger over Harry and Meghan’s infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey.
RELATED: Harry & Meghan’s Biggest Controversies Since Stepping Down As Senior Royals
The infamous Oprah interview
Stepping down from royal responsibilities and leaving England already seemed unthinkable. But to the “stiff upper lip” Royal Family, Harry and Meghan’s next move was practically unthinkable: airing dirty family laundry on national television!
When Harry and Meghan sat down for an interview with Oprah, we heard many unflattering allegations against the family. This included that Prince Charles stopped taking Harry’s calls during discussions about stepping down and that they were financially cut off by their family. Oh, and the biggest bombshell: that a senior royal allegedly expressed concerns over the skin color of Archie, the couples’ then-unborn first child.
This caused a stir all around the world. And the entire interview took certain family relationships that were already strained and nearly brought them to the breaking point.
Strained family relationships
In Harry’s own words, his relationship with his father and brother was already strained at the time of the interview. He discussed the fact that Prince Charles stopped taking his calls, and many believed that the unnamed “senior royal” worrying about Archie’s skin color was actually Charles.
And while Harry was diplomatic, Oprah Daily reports that he said this about Prince William: “We’ve been through hell together and we have a shared experience but we are on different paths.” This was a polite confirmation of the open secret that he and William had been butting heads over the Megxit issue.
However, the fallout from the interview made everything worse. Officially, the Royal Family’s response was an official statement. As reported by ET Online, it read, “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”
Unofficially, though? We saw a nervous Prince William get in front of cameras and proclaim “we are not a racist family.” And ET Online reports that Prince Charles wanted to issue a point-by-point rebuttal to the claims Harry and Meghan made, in particular about the claim that he cut them off when Charles allegedly kept financing them after their initial move to Canada and then America.
Just like that, Harry and Meghan made the family tension over Megxit worse. But that left us with the big question: how did the Queen really feel about all this?
RELATED: 9 Times The Royal Family Got Angry On Camera
The support of the Queen
To hear Harry tell it, the Queen has generally supported the couple and their decisions. For example, People reports that, during the Oprah interview, Harry claimed “I never blindsided my grandmother” about the decision to step down. “I have too much respect for her.” Accordingly, he had three conversations with her on the matter before leaving.
And as CBC reports, in May of 2021, he praised the Queen and her support. “I’ve spoken more to my grandmother in the last year than I have done for many, many years,” he said of their post-Megxit relationship. “My grandmother and I have a really good relationship and an understanding. And I have a deep respect for her. She’s my Colonel-in-chief, right? She always will be.”
How does the Queen really feel, though? As usual, she is a woman of few words. But according to Fox News, royal author Tina Brown claimed Elizabeth is very supportive. “Everybody was supportive of them leaving,” Brown said. “But they wanted it done in an orderly way. And they also wanted it done in a way that set the right precedent.”
And the Oprah interview didn’t change that. Brown claims that before Harry and Meghan visited the Queen recently, she insisted that they meet with Prince Charles and Prince William to work on healing the family rifts. If that’s not enough, the Daily Mail reports that the Queen extended an invitation for Harry and Megnah to attend family events during the Queen’s upcoming Platinum Jubilee.
Even after all of the drama of Megxit, it seems that Elizabeth has Harry and Meghan’s back.