When Meghan Markle stepped out on her first solo official royal engagement after her wedding to Prince Harry, she was accompanied by none other than the late Queen.

Elizabeth II had decided to come along personally to welcome the new Duchess of Sussex to life as a working royal – while giving her a masterclass on handling engagements.

By all accounts, the June 2018 trip was a success, with the papers the following day focusing on the pair sitting giggling happily together.

And although conversations with the Queen are usually private, Harry later revealed in his 2023 memoir Spare that the pair bonded over their love of dogs and motherhood.

Body language experts revealed at the time that although Meghan appeared deferential and nervous, she above all seemed gloriously happy to be in the monarch’s company.

It seemed to everyone watching that they were witnessing a blossoming friendship. 

Things got more serious between the pair when the Queen appointed her as vice president of the Commonwealth Trust in March 2019, which supports youth empowerment in Commonwealth countries.

Alongside Harry as president, it was hoped the young and enthusiastic couple could breathe fresh life into the institution for the next generation.

When Meghan was announced she excitedly said her work would ‘highlight the Trust’s partnerships with young people across the Commonwealth, and in particular its work supporting women and girls’.

Citizens of the Commonwealth comprise one third of the world’s population, with 60 per cent under the age of 30 – so the job had a huge responsibility. 

But most importantly, the role was a massive sign that the Queen was beginning to trust Meghan, as the Commonwealth was one of her most loved organisations.

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The Queen famously dedicated her life to the service of the Commonwealth on her 21st birthday during a speech in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1947.

Its modern version of the international institution was formed in 1949, after ‘British’ was dropped from the name and allegiance to the Crown was removed. 

However, like their other official roles, Harry and Meghan lost their patronages to the Commonwealth when they stepped down as working royals following Megxit. 

But eyebrows were raised when only a few years after leaving the organisation, Meghan seemed to be dismissive of the whole Commonwealth.

When she and Harry’s production company Archewell produced their Netflix ‘docuseries’ in December 2022, they hired experts to criticise the institution.

Did Meghan betray the Queen?

Perhaps most damaging was the claim by academic Afua Hirsch that it was ‘Empire 2.0’, while author Kehinde Andrews claimed ‘nothing has changed’ from the UK’s colonial past, apart from the Royal Family’s ‘better PR’.

Discussing institutional racism in the UK, Afua said in the documentary: ‘Britain calculated that it needed to grant these countries independence in a way that protected its commercial and capitalist interest. So it created this privileged club called the Commonwealth.

‘The Commonwealth is still described as a club of friends who share common values. I find that language really problematic.

‘I sometimes call the Commonwealth “Empire 2.0” because that is what it is.’

The commentators suggested this racist legacy made it difficult for Meghan to be both assimilated into the firm and widely accepted and loved by the British public. 

The accusations would surely have been a devastating blow to the Queen who had shown an enduring dedication to the organisation, making more than 200 visits to Commonwealth countries during her historic 70-year reign. 

Giving her analysis of the damaging remarks at the time, Royal Editor Rebecca English said: ‘A lot of people I’ve spoken to found this particularly offensive when it comes to Harry and his much-loved grandmother and see it really as a direct attack on her and her legacy – when she of course isn’t around to defend it.’ 

She said that while Harry and Meghan do not comment themselves on the Commonwealth, they hired talking heads to do so.

The Daily Mail’s Diary Editor Richard Eden said: ‘It’s almost lucky that Queen Elizabeth isn’t alive to see this because the Commonwealth was so central to her and bringing people together. 

‘It’s a voluntary organisation whereas [in the documentary], it’s dismissed as this colonial body used for Britain to extract money and resources from the rest of the world. She would have been horrified.’

TV pundit Dan Wootton tweeted: ‘The only mercy in the late Queen’s death is she didn’t have to watch Harry and Meghan using Netflix to trash her beloved Commonwealth to millions around the world as the Empire 2.0. Disgraceful.’ 

Meanwhile, The Mail on Sunday’s Editor at Large Charlotte Griffiths revealed how all the filming for the series finished in August 2022 – just weeks before the Queen passed away at the age of 96.

She said: ‘They were planning to do all of this thinking that the Queen would be alive to see it […] Thank God she didn’t.’

Charlotte pointed out Meghan’s ‘stance on the Commonwealth seems to have changed dramatically’ since her May 2018 wedding, where she wore a veil boasting different symbols to represent each nation.

In response to host Jo Elvin recalling how Meghan said she was ‘excited’ to visit the Commonwealth countries in her engagement interview, Charlotte said: ‘So she hadn’t done any research before getting married?

Richard Eden says Queen ‘would have been horrified’ by Netflix doc

‘Is that what’s she saying? And now she’s done her research? That’s inconsistent with who Meghan is as a person, she’s obviously a very well-researched person.

‘I just think her whole stance on the Commonwealth has changed dramatically, maybe she fully believes what Afua is saying. I don’t know but it’s a pretty hard line [to take].’

But is the narrative of the Commonwealth that was painted by Meghan’s experts accurate?

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It contains 56 countries as voluntary members, but instead of being dominated by a racist UK, its charter defines their shared values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Although mainly being former territories once controlled by the British Empire, that is not always the case.

Rwanda and Mozambique became members in 2009 and 1995 respectively, although neither were colonised by the British.

And in 2022, the former French colonies of Gabon and Togo opted to join too. 

It seems countries want to join the Commonwealth as the benefits of membership include diplomatic channels, developmental support and co-operation on international goals.

South Africa withdrew in 1961 after it was criticised by Commonwealth members for its apartheid policies, only becoming a member again in 1994 following the end of the regime and the election of Nelson Mandela 

The account of Meghan’s experts also seems to ignore Queen Elizabeth II’s own personal steps to address racism through the Commonwealth.

On her 1961 tour of Ghana she famously danced with its president in a scene that has since been immortalised in The Crown.

The dancing Queen: Documentary captures the symbolic moment the 35-year-old monarch danced like a ‘good white woman’ with the President of Ghana in 1961 in a bid to boost the Commonwealth

Her dance with the black African leader created headlines around the world, and she received high praise for sending a powerful anti-racist message at a time when the US was still segregated.

The moment was a powerful testimony to the Queen’s belief in the equality of all of the Commonwealth nations. 

Although Meghan had married into The Firm at the age of 36, and was not brought up to appreciate the full historical importance of the Commonwealth like her husband Harry, she would have been aware of the most important details.

After all, if the American actress had the time to learn how to curtsey properly and give a proper royal handshake, she would have had the time to learn about the most important international organisation to the Crown.

But there might not have been time for a long lesson on the Queen and Meghan’s only joint engagement in June 2018. 

Harry later wrote of the event in Spare: ‘She returned from the trip glowing. We bonded, she told me. “The Queen and I really bonded!”

Meghan Markle fidgets nervously on first joint engagement with Queen

‘”We talked about how much I wanted to be a mom and she told me the best way to induce labour was a good bumpy car ride! I told her I’d remember that when the time came”.’ 

WATCH NOW: Meghan Markle & Queen Elizabeth II’s relationship explained

The Daily Mail’s Diary Editor Richard Eden analysed the Queen and Meghan’s relationship in full in his series Reading the Royals.

The monarch was also seen sharing her blanket with Meghan while they travelled in the back of the car together.

However, it seems that although they only spent a short period of time together, the trip had a big impact on Meghan. 

In a March 2021 interview with CBS, she revealed that the Queen’s blanket gesture meant a lot to her.

She said: ‘We were in the car going between engagements. And she has a blanket that sits across her knees for warmth, and it was chilly.

‘And she was like, “Meghan, come on”, and put it over my knees as well… and it made me think of my grandmother, where she’s always been warm and inviting and really welcoming.’

And in another sign of her apparent friendship with the Queen, Harry’s wife sported a pair of delicate pearl earrings that day, given to her by the monarch as a gift.

Meghan would later wear these same earrings to the monarch’s funeral in September 2022.

And the month after, she spoke about her relationship with the late Queen in an interview with US magazine Variety, where she said: ‘I’ve reflected on that first official engagement that I had with her, 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.’

But although Meghan seemed to be thankful to the Queen for welcoming her into the family (and the Commonwealth) so graciously, it didn’t stop her from attacking the institution the elderly woman had spent her life building.

What is the Commonwealth of Nations? 

The Commonwealth of Nations is an intergovernmental association that consists mainly of former territories once controlled by the British Empire.

Association in the Commonwealth of Nations is voluntary. The organisation was headed by Queen Elizabeth II and based at the Marlborough House in London. The Commonwealth is designed to promote peace, human rights, democracy and other core values among its member nations.

The Commonwealth currently holds more than 2.5 billion people and encompasses more than 11.5 million square miles (29.9 million square kilometers). Its GDP is estimated to be in excess of $14.6 trillion (£10.4 trillion) as of 2014.

Which countries are in the Commonwealth?

The Commonwealth consists of 56 independent countries, the vast majority of which were at one point controlled by the British Empire.

The United Kingdom is one of the member states in the Commonwealth of Nations, as are Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. Other member states include India, Pakistan, Singapore, Barbados, Namibia and Papua New Guinea. The member states of the Commonwealth of Nations hail from Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

What is the history of the Commonwealth?

The origins of the Commonwealth of Nations date back almost a century.

The 1926 Balfour Declaration enshrined equality and autonomy to the Dominions of the British Empire, while the 1931 Statute of Westminster further codified the independence of the Empire’s Dominions and officially established the Commonwealth.

After a wave of decolonization swept across the world after World War II, the Commonwealth of Nations was officially declared by the London Declaration on April 28, 1949.

Over the years, a number of countries have either voluntarily left or joined the Commonwealth, while others have recognized their own Heads of State in lieu of the British Monarchy. Yet it remains one of the world’s preeminent intergovernmental organizations to this day.

What is the Commonwealth flag?

The Commonwealth flag was adopted in 1976 and modified in 2013.

It consists of a gold globe that represents the global nature of the Commonwealth surrounded by 24 gold spears set against a blue background.

How is Commonwealth Day celebrated?

Observance of Commonwealth Day is not uniform across all 56 member states.

In the United Kingdom, the Union Jack is flown over all government buildings while the Queen gives a special address focused on a particular theme each year and attends a special multi-faith service at Westminster Abbey with the Royal Family.

In Canada, the Union Jack is raised alongside the Canadian flag on government buildings, military bases and other establishments. In the Bahamas and Belize, Commonwealth Day is officially marked in schools with special assemblies and the reading of the Monarch’s address.

Have member countries ever been thrown out? 

Over the years, the Commonwealth has lost some members.

Is the head of the Commonwealth a hereditary role?

Although a common misconception, the head of the Commonwealth is not a hereditary role.

Nevertheless the Commonwealth accepted King Charles as its head in 2018, when he was Prince of Wales.

Only three people have been head of the organisation – King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III. 

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