It’s hard to keep up with the latest royal intrigue, but we’re doing out best.
ALLUSION TO MEGXIT
In a speech on diversity over the weekend, Queen Elizabeth gave a nod to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, who recently returned to the U.K. for the first time since stepping down from their senior royal posts.
The 93-year-old said: “On Commonwealth occasions, it is always inspiring to be reminded of the diversity of the people and countries that make up our worldwide family.”
The Queen continued: “We are made aware of the many associations and influences that combine through Commonwealth connection, helping us to imagine and deliver a common future. Such a blend of traditions serves to make us stronger, individually and collectively, by providing the ingredients needed for social, political and economic resilience.”
She also opined on how modern technology enabled people from all over the world to stay in touch: “Throughout my life, I have had the opportunity to see and hear how membership of the Commonwealth family means so much to those living in all parts of the world, often in places that are quite remote,” she says. “Advances in technology and modern media have now enabled many more people to witness and enjoy — with remarkable immediacy — this experience of Commonwealth connection, in areas such as education, medicine and conservation.”
MEGHAN INFURIATES CAMILLA
Not everyone seems to welcoming Meghan and Harry’s return with enthusiasm, if The Daily Mail is to be believed. Meghan reportedly promised Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, that she would not overshadow her campaign against domestic abuse.
But on the same day Camilla gave a speech at the Women of the World Festival in London, which she had “planned for a year,” Meghan posted a shot of herself on Instagram that Camilla saw as an attempt to “overshadow” her “big moment.”
An insider said: “Of course it was known Harry and Meghan would be doing engagements this week, some privately, but everyone was in agreement that Camilla’s speech should take precedence. Unfortunately, some people had other ideas.”
QUEEN LOCKED OUT
Meanwhile, in what observers calling a historic first, the Queen found herself locked out of Windsor Castle Friday. England’s reigning monarch attempted to enter only to find the gates shuttered and locked, with no one to open them.
“A female bodyguard jumped out from one of the cars and tried in vain to pull the heavy wooden gate open,” according to the Daily Mail. “After just under a minute of pulling and pushing in the pouring rain, the convoy decided to drive off and try their luck at another entrance.”
An onlooker blabbed that they had “never seen anything like it in 30 years. … I’m not sure if someone was sleeping on the job or simply that they were not expecting her, but it’s unheard of,” adding, “And it’s not often you get to see a queen locked out of her own castle.”