Queen Elizabeth II Felt That Divorcee Meghan Markle's Wedding Dress Was 'Too White'

Meghan Markle's Givenchy wedding dress largely received mixed reviews from the public, but the gown was also roasted by the late Queen Elizabeth II herself on that memorable spring day in 2018.

Royal author Ingrid Seward's new book, My Mother and I, explores the decades-long relationship between the revered late monarch and her son and heir, the then-Prince Charles. The tome includes a section on the May 19, 2018, nuptials between the American actress and Prince Harry, and offers a telling insight about the late ruler's thoughts on the Suits star. Elizabeth II felt that the dress was "too white" to adorn a divorcee in a church wedding.

The traditionalist Queen, who began her reign less than seven years after the end of World War II, was also "uncomfortable," with the Prince of Wales walking the actress down the aisle in place of her father. Elizabeth II felt that Meghan should have "walked herself" through the procession, since Thomas Markle was not present. Her late Majesty was also concerned about Prince Philip at the nuptials, since the long-serving consort had hip replacement surgery just five weeks before the event.

The monarch, who reigned over Britain and the Commonwealth for 70.5 years, also felt uncomfortable with the aesthetics and tone of the wedding, including the "long sermon" from American Archbishop, Michael Curry, which became one of the praised standouts of the "modern royal wedding."

Elizabeth II and the Duchess of Sussex would go on to attend their sole joint engagement with one another on June 14, 2018. Her Majesty would be left "severely disappointed" when Harry and Meghan decided to ditch the monarchy and Britain in early 2020. After the Queen's death on September 8, 2022, and the automatic accession of King Charles III, the former actress would go on to chide her late grandmother-in-law.

Harry, Duke of Sussex, was not amused when his wife, Meghan Markle, mocked Queen Elizabeth II in Harry & Meghan.

"One of the most contentious moments, among British viewers at least, was when a smirking Meghan performed a comic repeat of her first curtsey to the queen," Robert Hardman wrote in his new book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story. "The queasy look of discomfort on Harry's face was that of a man all too aware of the consequences yet unable to do anything about it."

"And I remember we were in the car, and we were driving up, and he's like, 'You know how to curtsy, right?' And I just thought it was a joke," the Duchess of Sussex shared in Harry & Meghan.

"It's surreal. It wasn't like some big moment of like, 'Now you're going to meet my grandmother.' I didn't know I was going to meet her until moments before," she added. At that point, the former actress then performs a pantomime, over-exaggerated-like rendition of a curtsey while laughingly sharing, "Pleasure to meet you, your Majesty."

GBN reported on excerpts from Seward's book.