4 Times Queen Elizabeth Breaks Royal Protocol For Meghan Markle

Queen Elizabeth is known to follow the royal protocol to a tee. She doesn’t go against it no matter what. However, it has been reported that Her Majesty has been breaking rules when it comes to Meghan Markle. Here are the times when the Queen ignored royal rules just for Prince Harry’s wife:

1. Royal Family’s Christmas Celebration

According to Reader’s Digest, the first time that Queen Elizabeth set aside the royal protocol for Meghan happened in 2017. This was before the former “Suits” actress and Prince Harry were married.

Her grandson asked his Queen grandma to allow his then fiancée to attend the family’s Christmas festivities. And surprisingly, she allowed her to come and celebrate with them even though she wasn’t yet a member of the royal family.

2. The Coat Of Arms For The Duchess Of Sussex

The Coat of Arms is traditionally made before the wedding and serves as a gift to the family of the spouse who is marrying a member of the royal family. Fashion Magazine notes that this is a symbolic present that is given to the father of the bride prior to the wedding, but Meghan’s Coat of Arms was only made for her without the names of her parents, which should have been included in the emblem.

The Queen decided to bestow the honor only upon Meghan, but it did pay homage to Prince Harry’s wife’s origins. The personalized design features two golden rays (sunshine) and a blue background (Pacific Ocean), which are said to represent California, the Duchess of Sussex’s hometown.

3. Church Wedding For The Duchess

Meghan is a divorcee, and based on royal protocol, she’s not allowed to get married in church. In fact, Prince Charles and Camilla were only wed via a civil ceremony, and Queen Elizabeth didn’t even show up.

But for Prince Harry and Meghan, the Queen relaxed the rules a bit, and the couple was able to tie the knot at St George's Chapel in Windsor. The Duke of Sussex became the very first royal to marry a divorcee in church.

4. The Wedding Invitation And Wedding Songs

In royal wedding invitations, the brides are usually referred to as “Miss.” But since Meghan has already been married once, this salutation wasn’t appropriate for her based on royal protocol. But Queen Elizabeth bent the rule a bit and allowed the invitation to state “Ms Meghan Markle.”

Lastly, British royal weddings only play British music. But in the case of the Sussexes, they were permitted to include American songs in their wedding rites and celebration.