Queen Elizabeth II “wanted Meghan Markle to make her new role a success” and suggested Sophie Wessex as a mentor – but the Duchess of Sussex “wasn’t interested,” according to a royal author.
Gyles Brandreth told Palace Confidential that Her Majesty, who died on September 8 aged 96, “did everything she could” to welcome Meghan, who is now living with Prince Harry and their two children in one 11 million pound mansion in Montecito, California.
He said the Queen had suggested the Countess of Wessex to the Duchess as “a mentor of sorts” but Meghan “feels like she has Harry” and doesn’t need any further help from an advisor.
His comments come as the royal family prepares for more attacks from Harry and Meghan when the first episode of their “explosive” Netflix series is released on Thursday.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Queen Elizabeth II attend a ceremony to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge on June 14, 2018 in Widnes, England
Gyles also spoke about the Queen’s fondness for Harry and revealed that she was happy to hear the couple is abbreviating their daughter Lilibet’s name to Lili.
“I know that when she heard they often shorten it to Lili, she thought that’s pretty nice,” he said.
He also spoke briefly with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021 about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s revelations and the late monarch’s reaction to them.
The royal author said: “The Queen, I know she said about the Oprah interview, I know the Duke of Edinburgh would have thought it was a bad idea, just as a matter of principle, not to talk about it. The Queen, “TV nonsense, I’m not worried about that.”‘
Speaking to the Mail’s Palace confidant, Gyles (pictured) said: “The Queen wanted Meghan to make the marriage and her new role a success and indeed did everything she could to encourage that.”
Sophie of Wessex (left) was popular with her mother-in-law, who had hoped she would be a mentor to Prince Harry’s wife Meghan (right). Pictured together in November 2019
He continued: “The Queen wanted Meghan to make the marriage and her new role a success and indeed did everything she could to encourage that.
“I think she suggested that Sophie Wessex, who was certainly one of her favorites and had been through it by marrying into the royal family and marrying Prince Edward, could help her be a kind of mentor.
“I don’t think Meghan was interested in that. She felt like having Harry, she didn’t need to be offered a mentor… The Queen was very enthusiastic at first,” he concluded.
Sophie, wife of the Queen’s youngest child Prince Edward, was a favorite of the late monarch.
There’s no denying the 57-year-old has developed a very close bond with her mother-in-law.
Gyles believed the Queen would have accepted Meghan and Harry’s (pictured together in July 2018) desire to develop their lives elsewhere
She was welcomed into the royal family after tying the knot with Prince Edward in 1999, and the couple have since welcomed two children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.
Meanwhile, Gyles also suggested that the Queen would have accepted Meghan and Harry’s desire to develop their lives elsewhere.
He said: “I don’t really know where you say it all went wrong. Meghan and Harry decided to take their lives elsewhere and the Queen would have accepted that and wished them well. That would have been her attitude.”
Meghan and Harry were pictured yesterday for the first time since their inflammatory Netflix trailer – arriving by private jet in New York to accept an award for their “heroic” stand against “structural racism” in the royal family.
The Duchess beamed as she and Harry climbed into a waiting SUV before heading to the Big Apple. The 41-year-old wore an all-black outfit and large sunglasses, while her 38-year-old husband wore a buttoned-up white shirt and black trousers.
The Sussexes will receive a human rights award at tonight’s The Ripple of Hope gala, which will sell tickets for up to $1 million (£847,000). Past winners include Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
In a trailer for their documentary released yesterday, Harry claimed the couple suffered from leaks and planted stories that underpinned the royal family’s “hierarchy”.
Allies told the six-hour series on Netflix there was “a war on Meghan to fit other people’s agendas,” with one claiming “it’s about hate, it’s about race.”
In clips for the show, the Duke also took aim at royal aides and grinned as he commented, “It’s a dirty game.”
But royal sources insisted it was “absolutely false” to claim the couple had been informed and insisted “unprecedented steps” had been taken to support them.
An insider told The Daily Telegraph that royal staff are instead “bent over their backs to work with them”.
They added it was “non-stop on her behalf” when it came to defending her against negative stories – which began when rumors surfaced about the couple’s behavior towards employees.
Another said the narrative comparing Meghan to Kate was “made up” with no distinction between the press treatment.