Queen Elizabeth's Response To Meghan Markle's Family Crisis Is Sort Of Great

Meghan Markle has been having a pretty topsy-turvy time of it since marrying Prince Harry in May. She's now the Duchess of Sussex, which is cool, and gets to live in a palace to a man she seems to love to the core of her soul. Also pretty cool. But the flip side of that coin has probably been pretty tough to take; her father and the rest of the Markle crew who seem to delight in humiliating her at every turn. If you've been wondering how Queen Elizabeth has responded to Markle's family crisis in recent months, I have to tell you that you might be pleasantly surprised.

As someone who pays a whole lot of attention to the goings-on at Buckingham Palace (and also I watched The Crown so I know things), I'll admit I was worried about how the Queen might react to all of this Markle family drama. She has a history of being rather famously private and a patent distaste for salacious rumors, and who can blame her? As the longest-reigning monarch of Great Britain and mother of four kids who have probably caused her plenty of public headaches, she's had her fair share. Plenty of people might not have been surprised if she were to display some frustration over Meghan Markle's father and his constant need to just blab to the press all the time.

This is reportedly not the case at all.

According to Us Weekly, a Buckingham palace source says the Queen has total sympathy for her new granddaughter-in-law:

What may surprise some is just how supportive Her Majesty has been during the problems Meghan has faced with her family. Meghan is in a tough place, and the queen knows it’s completely out of Meghan’s hands. She has only sympathy for what’s been a difficult and distressing situation for her.

Markle has had to deal privately with an onslaught of negative media attention because of her father, Thomas Markle, and her half-sister, Samantha Markle, ever since her May wedding to Prince Harry and even before. Thomas Markle rather famously embarrassed his daughter by staging some paparazzi pictures in the weeks before she her wedding, and then did not go to her wedding at the last minute due to some alleged health trouble. Since then, he seems to spend his weekends tag-teaming with his older daughter Samantha in the press, saying terrible things about the royal family and essentially painting Meghan in a corner where she reportedly doesn't know how to repair her relationship with him, according to Harper's Bazaar.

Fortunately Markle seems to have the complete support of the royal family, including the number one royal herself, Queen Elizabeth. According to another Buckingham palace source, it really shouldn't be that surprising. Ever since Prince Harry introduced Markle to his grandmother privately to make sure his intended bride would feel "welcomed and supported," Her Majesty has been especially fond of the former Suits actress and philanthropist. The source told Us Weekly:

The queen became fond of Meghan at their first meeting. Not just because she’s the charming woman who brought happiness into her grandson’s life, but also because she quickly demonstrated that she’s intelligent, polite and keen to learn.

It's nice to know that Queen Elizabeth, who is 92 years old and arguably one of the most pampered people on the planet, has the good sense to understand Meghan Markle is not responsible for her family's poor judgment. It shows a softness in the Queen, a crack in her rigid public persona that I personally find just delightful.

She's royal waving the Markles out of sight. And I love it.