Harry and Meghan had made a number of serious allegations about the Royal Family, including claims of racism over their son Archie’s skin colour and that Meghan had not been shown support while struggling with suicidal thoughts.

Harry’s memoir Spare, published earlier this year, further widened the rift as he detailed his own feelings of alienation as a royal and made even more bombshell allegations, including that his own brother William had assaulted him during an argument.

However Meghan has always spoken highly of the Queen, saying the two enjoyed a “lovely and easy” friendship. “The Queen has always been wonderful to me,” she told Oprah Winfrey in the couple’s famous 2021 sit-down interview. “I’ve loved being in her company. She’s always been warm, welcoming, and inviting.” She was seen in tears at Her Majesty’s funeral last year.

Speaking to Variety in October last year, Meghan said: “There’s been such an outpouring of love and support. I’m really grateful that I was able to be with my husband to support him, especially during that time. What’s so beautiful is to look at the legacy that his grandmother was able to leave on so many fronts. Certainly, in terms of female leadership, she is the most shining example of what that looks like.

“I feel deep gratitude to have been able to spend time with her and get to know her. It’s been a complicated time, but my husband, ever the optimist, said, ‘Now she’s reunited with her husband’. I’ve reflected on that first official engagement that I had with her, and how special that felt. I feel fortunate. And I continue to be proud to have had a nice warmth with the matriarch of the family.”