Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are ‘trying to build bridges with Queen’, source claims

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are ‘trying to build bridges with the Queen’ by gushing about the Commonwealth, a royal source told Sunday People. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly trying to make amends with the monarch after Harry, 35, appeared to take a swipe at the British Empire last month by saying the history of the Commonwealth ‘must be acknowledged’ even if it’s ‘uncomfortable’.

The claim comes after the pair heaped praise on Harry’s grandmother this week, insisting it is an ‘honour’ to be continuing Her Majesty’s legacy and that the Queen has succeeded in what she set out to do with the Commonwealth. 

According to the insider, it’s ‘dawned’ on Harry and Meghan, 39, that ‘they need the Royal Family more than it needs them.  

‘The Queen is fiercely protective of the Commonwealth,’ the source told the publication.

‘It feels like Harry and Meghan are finally trying to build bridges as I think despite their popularity in certain quarters… it has dawned on them they need the Royal Family more than it needs them.’

In July the Duke of Sussex faced criticism after he appeared to take a swipe at the British Empire by saying the Commonwealth needs to follow others who have ‘acknowledged the past’ and are ‘trying to right their wrongs’, and also admitted to having his own ‘unconscious bias’.

He made the comment as he joined wife Meghan for a video call with young leaders from the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust to discuss ‘justice and equal rights’. 

During that conversation Meghan said is a time of ‘reckoning’ when individuals should be putting their hands up to ‘own’ their past wrongdoings. 

However, earlier this week Meghan gushed that it is an ‘honour’ to be continuing Her Majesty’s legacy during a video call with young leaders from the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust. 

She also admitted she ‘didn’t know’ about the Commonwealth until she joined the Royal Family.

The couple joined the discussion from their new $14 million mansion in Santa Barbara, with a recording of the video call shared on the QCT YouTube channel. 

Both Meghan and Prince Harry spoke adoringly of the Queen, 94, whom they referred to as ‘grandmother’ during the video call, weeks after their rift with the Royal Family was laid bare in their explosive biography Finding Freedom.

Meanwhile the couple also gushed over the Commonwealth with Meghan saying she felt ‘incredible pride’ at being able to work with the QCT, revealing: ‘[Young people from across the Commonwealth] come with a question, they always offered a solution, and that’s what I think is so inspiring and why I’m incredibly proud to be able to work with the QCT, but why it’s the continuation of the legacy of your grandmother.’ 

Prince Harry also heaped on praise, saying the Queen has achieved everything she wanted to when she took on the ‘huge responsibility’ of the Commonwealth. 

Royal commentators have previously said it’s likely the Queen would have found Harry’s comments about the Commonwealth in July ‘insulting’ as it was a criticism of something she ‘cherishes above all things’. 

Last month, London-based veteran royal photographer Arthur Edwards said the comment shows Harry has ‘lost the plot’ and ‘should stop listening to his wife’. 

Writing for the Sun, Arthur observed: ‘Prince Harry is entitled to his views. But in criticising the Commonwealth – the organisation closest to his grandmother’s heart – he has simply lost the plot.’