Queen Elizabeth thought Meghan's wedding dress was 'too white' in secret remarks to cousin
3 February 2024, 11:56
Queen Elizabeth was critical of Meghan's wedding dress when she tied the knot with Prince Harry, it has emerged.
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The late monarch criticised its colour and believed it was inappropriate for a divorcee to wear at a church wedding.
While Elizabeth II never spoke publicly about it, she revealed her opinions on the dress to Lady Elizabeth Anson, her cousin.
Royal commentator Ingrid Sewid's new book My Mother and I claims she believed Meghan's gown was "too white" when she married Harry at Windsor.
"In the monarch's view, it was not appropriate for a divorcee getting remarried in church to look quite so flamboyantly virginal," Ms Seward writes.
But she had viewed Meghan at first as a positive entry to the royal family, hoping she would be able to make an impact with her grandson.
"From their very first meeting, over tea at Buckingham Palace, the Queen approved of Meghan Markle. Not only did she like her, she had high hopes for what the American actress might be able to achieve with Harry for the youth of the Commonwealth," Ms Seward writes.
But Prince Philip would make comparisons between her and Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee who Edward VIII abdicated to marry.
Ms Seward says he was "one of the few wary" of being charmed by Meghan and thought it was "uncanny" how much she reminded him of Wallis.
This week, Harry and Meghan issued a rare and emotional message on child safety on social media.
The Sussexes spoke out after chief executives of Meta, TikTok, X and other social media giants gave evidence before the US Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
The couple, who are parents to Archie and Lilibet, have been outspoken critics of the way social media firms handle child safety.
In a statement on the Archewell website, they said the issue transcended division and party lines and this is "not the time to pass the buck of responsibility".
