Queen Elizabeth II “had high hopes” that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry would help preserve one of her dearest projects – the Commonwealth.
The international association was long seen as the “baby” of the late monarch, who oversaw its expansion throughout her 70 years on the throne.
Shortly after their marriage in May 2018, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were handed the reins of the Commonwealth Trust, a charity that supports young people across member states.
According to royal commentator Ingrid Seward, the late Queen had hoped her grandson and his wife would help win over support from younger generations and offset the more “professional” Prince William and Kate, the Princess of Wales.
Seward said: “[Prince Harry] always ‘got it’ and provided great cheer to those he met on official royal engagements. And so did Meghan.
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“She smiled, pressed flesh and hugged the public in an all-embracing way. They were a perfect foil for William and Kate, who were polished and professional but still full of laughter.
“The Queen had high hopes that the foursome might spearhead the monarchy of the future. Sharing the sometimes demanding, duller duties and supporting their father into the future when she was no longer around.”
The Majesty Magazine’s editor-in-chief claimed the late Queen knew Harry and Meghan had “universal appeal” and could help spruce up the Royal Family with a more modern approach to public duty.
Speaking to The Mirror, she continued: “The Queen thought Harry and Meghan had universal appeal until the woes of the world and their lives took over and things began to go downhill.
“Even then she had high hopes for their multicultural appeal to the young commonwealth – her baby as Prince Philip called it.”
But she argued the late Queen’s hopes ultimately collapsed after royal life did not pan out to be the way Meghan had imagined it.
Harry and Meghan stepped down from their official duties in March 2020, after a tense family summit at Sandringham that only the Duke attended.
They had initially suggested they would be happy to continue to work for the institution on a part-time basis, but their suggestion was shut down.
Harry and Meghan have not been back to the UK together since Her Late Majesty’s funeral last year. Harry briefly returned to England alone this week but he did not meet with any members of the Royal Family.
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