A royal expert has revealed that Queen Camilla once used subtle, ‘coded’ gestures to express her affection for Meghan Markle after she married Prince Harry in 2018, reported by The Mirror. Despite recent tensions between Prince Harry and the Royal Family, it seems that the relationship wasn’t always strained, with Camilla reportedly going out of her way to welcome Meghan into the fold.
In Andrew Morton’s book Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, the author claims that Camilla made several gestures to show that Meghan had been ‘accepted’ into the Royal Family. These gestures included breaking typical royal protocol by holding hands with Meghan and kissing her goodbye at a public event celebrating King Charles’ 70th birthday in 2018.
“This rare royal gesture was a sign of how quickly the American actor had been accepted and treated with genuine affection by the Royal Family,” Morton wrote, via the Express. He further explained that on that day, Camilla, who had previously guided Kate Middleton through royal protocols during her early years in the family, was signaling to the world that Meghan was now “one of us.”
However, despite these early signs of acceptance, the relationship between the Sussexes and the rest of the Royal Family did not stay close. In January 2020, Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior royals. Meghan later revealed that she never felt fully accepted, despite her efforts to fit in. In the couple’s Netflix documentary, she recalled the emotional moment when they left the UK after their final royal engagements.
“We landed in Canada, and one of our security guards who had been with H for so long… I just collapsed in his arms crying. I was like: ‘I tried so hard,’ and he was like: ‘I know you did. I know you did, ma’am, I know you did,'” Meghan shared. “And it still wasn’t good enough. And you still don’t fit in.”
The couple eventually relocated to Montecito, California, where they now live with their two children, Archie and Lilibet. Meghan spoke about the freedom they enjoy in their new life, saying, “A part of what’s beautiful here is the freedom to have family moments out in the world. And I want our kids to be able to do that and to be able to travel and to fall in love. I just want them to be happy.”
Harry echoed her sentiments, adding, “The world that they see is how I would love the world to be. They don’t need to worry about the things that we worry about.”