The Queen has always had a close relationship with her grandchildren, and she appears to have welcomed Prince Harry’s new wife Meghan into the family with open arms, too.
The monarch has placed an unseen photo of the couple pride of place in her meeting room at Buckingham Palace, in front of all her other family photos – and eagle-eyed fans spotted it for the first time as she met the Australian High Commissioner to the UK, George Brandis, this week.
The photo shows Harry dressed smartly in a blue suit and tie with his arm around new wife Meghan, while she cuddles in to his side. The former US actress is wearing a short-sleeved pale-coloured dress and has her hair loose down her back for the smiling snap.
While the Palace has released a series of official photos of the pair over the last few months, this picture has remained private for the family – until now.
The doting grandmother, 92, also has photos of Zara and Mike Tindall on their wedding day, William and Harry in military uniform and a portrait of Princess Anne and her husband Timothy Laurence, which appears to have been moved, in her main meeting room.
The room is used regularly by Her Majesty to meet guests, and she also has a weekly meeting with the prime minister in front of the loving photo display.
It’s unclear when and where the photo of Harry and Meghan was taken, but Hello! magazine reports it was likely shot by the couple’s wedding photographer Alexi Lubomirski as part of their engagement shoot in December.
The Queen was joined by her husband Prince Philip to watch her grandson and Meghan tie the knot and become the Duke and Duchess of Sussex recently. They were both filmed waving the couple off in their carriage, despite Philip reportedly suffering from pain on the day due to a recent hip replacement.
Despite walking unaided in the grounds of Windsor Castle, a lot of viewers couldn’t help commenting on the Duke of Edinburgh’s tired and rather gaunt appearance. While it’s completely understandable following major surgery, especially aged 96, it’s now claimed there could have been another reason why he looked a little pained.
The Sun reports he was recovering from a cracked rib at the nuptials, and was likely in some pain. According to the publication, he slipped in the bath just a few days before – and only days after giving up his crutches following his surgery.
However, despite the injury, he not only soldiered on to attend the wedding – but did it without a crutch or stick in sight.