Queen Elizabeth and Prince Harry in 2019.Photo: Steve Parsons - WPA Pool/Getty
Prince Harrymay have stepped back from his royal role, but he remains close toQueen Elizabeth.
Throughout the turmoil of Harry and wifeMeghan Markle’s departure from royal life — which has seen rifts between the couple and other royal family members, including Prince William — the Duke of Sussex has made sure his relationship with his grandmother has remained intact.
He also introduced his 1-year-old daughterLilibet(the Queen’s namesake!) to the monarch when the family wasin the U.K.for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations earlier this month.
For her part, the Queen has had to steer a tricky course between sympathy for the couple and firmness in favor of her role as monarch.
“One thing about the Queen is she has to manage being a grandmother but also how it affects the wider institution,” a royal insider saysin the latest PEOPLERoyals, out Friday.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Harry.Chris Jackson/Getty
But Harry and his grandmother had other ideas: As cameras rolled, the Queen shrugged her shoulders and said in classic understatement: “Boom, really? Please.”
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our newsletterto get the latest updates onKate Middleton,Meghan Markleand more!
Six years later it’s clear there are few, if any, members of the Queen’s extended family who would have the confidence and the humor to ask the Queen to take part in such a stunt.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Harry.John Shelley Collection/Avalon/Getty
Harry’s doing so underlined both the respect between him and his grandmother and her willingness to show a different side of herself for him — in front of the world.
“If Harry asks, the Queen would say yes— as she adores him,” a friend has said of the bond between the monarch and the Duke of Sussex.
source: people.com
