Meghan Markle held on to Prince Harry during the “awkward walkabout” with Prince William and Princess Kate after Queen Elizabeth II’s death, according to GB News presenter Ellie Costello.
Speaking to GB News’ Royal Correspondent Cameron Walker and GBNews.com’s Royal Editor Svar Nanan-Sen on The Royal Record, Ellie detailed exactly what happened in the wake of the Queen’s death when she was posted in Windsor.
The Breakfast with Stephen and Ellie co-host had been on the scene as the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived to view the public’s messages and floral tributes at Windsor Castle in a rare moment of unity between the now-at-odds King’s sons.
Referring to the Queen’s death, Cameron said: “A moment like that does actually bring people together – and you actually witnessed two feuding brothers coming together a couple of days later to do a bit of a walkabout: Prince William, Prince Harry, Catherine and Meghan greeting members of the public and laying flowers with them. What was that like to witness?”
Costello told The Royal Record exactly what happened in Windsor after the Queen’s death
Ellie replied: “Well, it was a complete shock to be honest with you. I had essentially moved into Windsor after the late Queen’s passing – I stayed there for several days… There were people coming from all around the globe to lay flowers.
“They had to keep moving the flowers inside St George’s Chapel because there were just so many of them – and you could smell those flowers from the high street coming up to the castle.
“It was really the most incredible outpouring of love for the late Queen.”
But in a surprise to onlookers which made headlines around the globe, Ellie described just what happened when the “Fab Four” stepped out in mourning.
Meghan was spotted holding on to her husband as she met crowds
The “Fab Four” stepped out to greet Windsor’s well-wishers after the Queen’s death
She said: “It must have been about four or five days into national mourning, when we were told: ‘You need to get behind these barriers.’
“We were like: ‘Oh, there must have been somebody coming to look at these flowers, that had been happening’ – so we’re thinking: ‘Maybe it’s Prince William, maybe it’s Princess Catherine’ – we weren’t sure.
“It was going on for several hours, and it later became clear why that was. The two brothers were talking about the logistics of how they were both going to arrive, so that’s what the delay was.
“People were building up behind those barriers – we had the public, we had the media, we had media from all around the globe who were there anyway.
Ellie was speaking on GB News’ flagship royal podcast for the first time.
The four demonstrated an unusual show of unity after the Queen died
“And then, we saw two cars pull up… I was thinking: ‘It must be William and Harry’; we were so excited about the prospect of it being Prince William and Prince Harry together, so then when the four of them emerged from those gates, we couldn’t believe our eyes – the ‘Fab Four’, reunited, and, in a way, what a fitting time to do so.”
But the emotional public reunion between the two most influential grandsons of the late Queen wasn’t all flowers and platitudes, Ellie explained.
She noted: “If anyone was going to bring them together, it would be the late Queen Elizabeth – but it was an awkward walkabout… It really was.”
William was seen reading messages of support from the public
The black-clad quartet emerged from the gates of Windsor Castle to greet crowds
When asked if she could sense the awkwardness, Ellie said: “Absolutely, yeah. I was one of the first journalists behind the barriers, and for me, the awkwardness was mostly between the two women.
“Perhaps this makes sense, bearing in mind what we know from the Oprah interviews and Netflix and whatnot – but Meghan was holding on to Harry’s back quite a lot and touching him a lot.
“To me, she looked the most insecure in that setup; Catherine looked really stoic and really steadfast in what she wanted to do.
“She was there to support William, she was there to see the crowds – but I could really sense the tension between the two women.”