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Queen Elizabeth Felt Meghan Markle, William and Kate 'Not Working Well'
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Queen Elizabeth II already felt Meghan Markle and Prince William and Princess Kate were "not working well" before Meghan and Prince Harry's wedding, her cousin told a biographer.
Lady Elizabeth Anson gave a series of interviews to royal author Sally Bedell Smith over a number of years about her relationship with the late monarch.
Bedell Smith, author of George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy, has now published extracts of those conversations on her Substack blog Royal Extra.
Princess Kate and Meghan Markle share a private conversation during Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 14, 2018.
Princess Kate and Meghan Markle share a private conversation during Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 14, 2018.
Karwai Tang/WireImage
Anson is quoted saying: "Meghan and William and Kate are not working well. That is what the Queen said, particularly about the two girls.
"It's worrying that so many people are questioning whether Meghan is right for Harry. The problem, bless his heart, is that Harry is neither bright nor strong, and she is both."
Why It Matters
It has long been known there were tensions between Kate and Meghan before the royal wedding, including an argument about Princess Charlotte's bridesmaids dress not fitting.
However, it was not known that conflict between Meghan and Kate and William had reached the queen at such an early stage, according to Bedell Smith, two weeks before the May 19 wedding.
What to Know
It is not clear whether the queen's comments to Anson were a product of the famous argument about bridesmaids dresses, which Harry said in Spare was just four days before the wedding.
There have been hints about other, earlier, issues, including in February 2018, three months before the wedding.
The four royals were asked at The Royal Foundation Forum whether they ever had disagreements.
William laughed as he replied, "Oh yes," while Harry said, "healthy disagreements," before William added: "Is it resolved? We don't know."
Meanwhile, Harry's book describes Kate saying Meghan upset her by referencing her "baby brain" during a conversation about the timing of wedding rehearsals.
It is, of course, also possible that none of the known incidents got back to the queen and that she was thinking of something else entirely.
Also, Anson died in November 2020 and Elizabeth II in September 2022 meaning neither woman is alive to confirm or deny the account, not that the late queen has ever commented on stories of this kind.
Either way, Anson told Bedell Smith the queen, who she nicknamed "Jemima" for reasons unknown, had been "very worried."
"The Number One Lady—I call her Jemima—says the jury is out on whether she likes Meghan," Anson is quoted as saying. "My Jemima is very worried."
"Harry is besotted and weak about women," Anson added. "We hope but don't quite think she is in love. We think she engineered it all."
What People Are Saying
Prince Harry gave a different account of the couple's relationship with the late queen in a 2022 interview with Hoda Kotb: "We have a really special relationship. We talk about things that she can't talk about with anybody else."
"Being with her, it was great," he continued. "It was just so nice to see her. She's on great form.
"She's always got a great sense of humor with me and I'm just making sure that she's, you know, protected and got the right people around her."
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@ We'd love to hear from you.
