Meghan Markle joined her husband, Prince Harry, and the royal family to pay respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II today, attending her coffin procession at Westminster Palace, where the monarch will lie in state until her funeral Monday morning. And while Meghan did not interact with Prince William or Kate Middleton, from whom she was mere feet away, the Duchess of Sussex did have a poignant moment with the late Queen.
Meghan was photographed curtsying to the Queen’s coffin. It was a moving public display of the respect and love she has for Harry’s grandmother.
Harry and Meghan were close to the Queen, with the couple choosing to name their daughter Lilibet after the Queen’s childhood nickname. “We have a really special relationship,” Harry told The Today Show in April of his bond with the Queen. “We talk about things she can’t talk about with anyone else.”
Meghan also comforted her husband during the event. Harry was photographed wiping away a tear at one point, and the couple held hands as they left the service. They were the only royal couple to do so.
Meghan spoke to Oprah in March 2021 about her own “wonderful” relationship with the Queen.
“The Queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me,” Meghan said. “I mean, we had one of our first joint engagements together. She asked me to join her, and I went on the train. And we had breakfast together that morning, and she gave me a beautiful gift, and I just really loved being in her company, and I know we were in the car—yeah, she gave me some beautiful pearl earrings and a matching necklace—and we were in the car going between engagements. And she has a blanket that sits across her, her knees, for warmth and it was chilly and she was like, ‘Meghan, come on,’ and put it over my knees as well.”
In his statement following the Queen’s death, Harry spoke about how much he cherished his time with her, particularly her first meetings with Meghan and later their children, Archie and Lilibet.
“Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings—from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren,” he wrote. “I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between. You are already sorely missed, not just by us, but by the world over.”
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.