Meghan Markle's Special Moment With Queen Elizabeth II Sparks Debate

Meghan Markle's description of being given a blanket by a "warm and inviting" Queen Elizabeth II has sparked debate online after video footage of the moment resurfaced.

The Duchess of Sussex described how the special moment came during her only solo royal engagement with the queen when they helped open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge, in Widnes, England, on June 14, 2018.

Meghan told Oprah Winfrey in March 2021: "She gave me beautiful pearl earrings and a matching necklace. And 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.

"Just moments of … and it made me think of my grandmother, where she's always been warm and inviting and … and really welcoming."

Footage of the incident has resurfaced on TikTok, where it has been viewed 745,000 times and liked 7,000 times, as users argued about whether the clip supported or disproved Meghan's account.

The post was captioned "when Meghan lied on Oprah" and quoted the most famous line from the queen's response to the Oprah interview: "Some recollections may vary."

However, one comment read: "Wait she did hand her the blanket? what did I miss?"

Another said: "You can see she puts it on her legs it's not a lie," while a third wrote: "You can clearly see her pass the edge of the blanket over to her."

While the queen does not appear to place the blanket fully over Meghan's legs, she does appear to offer Meghan a corner and turn to say something to the duchess.

Some were still not convinced, however, with one TikToker saying: "She put it on half of 1/4 of one of her knees."

Prince Harry and Meghan have launched a number of bombshell allegations at his family and the monarchy, including during their interview with Oprah, on their Netflix show, in Harry's book Spare, in his mental health docu-series, The Me You Can't See, and on an appearance on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast.

Among the most serious, Meghan said an unnamed royal had "concerns and conversations" about how dark her unborn child's skin might be, suggesting this may have been linked to discussions about possibly denying her children prince and princess titles.

Harry later said they viewed the comments as "unconscious bias" rather than racism and Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet ultimately did inherit titles when the queen died in September 2022.

The Duke of Sussex also told The Me You Can't See his family responded with "total silence or total neglect" after he pleaded for help dealing with the media.

And in his book Spare he wrote about Prince William's "alarming baldness," accused Queen Camilla of sacrificing him on her PR altar and revealed Princess Charlotte cried about her bridesmaid's dress before Harry and Meghan's wedding.

However, the pair have always sought to position themselves as close to the queen, confirming to Oprah off camera that comments made about their children's skin color were not made by the monarch or Prince Philip.

On camera, Harry said: "I've never blindsided my grandmother. I have too much respect for her."

He also spoke about his relationship with the late monarch during an April 2022 interview with Today.

The prince said: "Being with her, it was great. It was just so nice to see her. She's on great form.

"She's always got a great sense of humor with me and I'm just making sure that she's, you know, protected and got the right people around her."

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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