Queen Elizabeth Is Reportedly Giving Meghan Markle Special Treatment Over Kate Middleton
It's apparently not in our imaginations! According to at least one royal expert, Queen Elizabeth has made a conscious effort since Meghan Markle joined the royal family to show her more favor than she's shown towards newcomers over the years, including both Princess Diana and Kate Middleton.
According to royal biographer Duncan Larcombe, the queen is "particularly close" to the Duchess of Sussex.
According to The Sun, Larcombe told Fabulous Digital, "Meghan seems to have forged a particularly close relationship with the queen if you compare that to when other people have married into the royal family."
He explained, "The queen last year, in the first few months of Meghan's entry into the royal family, made a particular and slightly unusual effort to welcome her in. Unusual in the context of the trip on the royal train to do a royal engagement. I'm 99% sure she's never afforded that offer to Kate."
Indeed, Queen Elizabeth invited Meghan on their first solo appearance together just weeks after her wedding at Windsor Castle.
Prince Harry and Meghan were married in May, and in June, the queen and the new duchess traveled overnight by royal train to visit Cheshire. According to some reports, not even Kate Middleton or even Prince Harry have ridden the royal train.
Larcombe also revealed that Queen Elizabeth has "obviously requested" that Meghan join her for public appearances on several occasions, and that it was likely deliberate, to "signal the fact that she was welcoming her into the royal family."
In contrast, Kate Middleton didn't step out for a solo appearance with the monarch until she and Prince William had been married for eight years.
It wasn't until March 2019 that Kate and Queen Elizabeth stepped out just the two of them, to high-tech university in central London, King's College's Strand campus.
According to Larcombe, one of the reasons the queen may have made more of an effort to include Meghan was "possibly because Meghan very much burst onto the scene in a way Kate obviously didn't. Everyone got to know Kate and the family long before they got engaged."
And Harry's mom, Princess Diana, may even have something to do with the queen's special treatment of Meghan.
The biographer explained, "Also possibly because of the lessons of the past where Princess Diana pretty much felt like an outsider in the royal family."
It makes complete sense that the queen has been eager to show acceptance of Meghan into the royal family, and we're sure it's nothing personal. Remember also that Kate and Will were university students when they started dating, not established 30-somethings with a bit of life experience. It's not really fair to compare their situations.