When it comes to feeling supported within the royal family, Meghan Markle has the ultimate champion in husband Prince Harry, but she also has two very senior royals to lean on as she adjusts to her new life: Queen Elizabeth and Kate Middleton.
Since officially becoming a royal after her wedding on May 19, Meghan has had high-profile outings with both the Queen and Princess Kate. And their relationships are strengthening behind the scenes as well.
“What’s characterized these months are the two great relationships that she has struck up with the Queen and with Catherine,” Robert Lacey, historical consultant for The Crown, tells PEOPLE. “They seem to be her closest friends and partners in the official set-up.”
In fact, Meghan’s royal stamp of approval came very early on from a few beloved members of the Queen’s entourage: her corgis.
“Harry gave the clue to it when in the [engagement] interview he talked about how well the corgis had taken to her instantly. That seems to be a metaphor for the Queen and everybody else has taken their cue from that,” Lacey adds.
The support Meghan receives from her sister-in-law and the monarch is important now more than ever as Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle, continues to speak out against the royal family.
In a recent interview with The Mail on Sunday, Thomas called the Duchess of Sussex “cold” and claimed he now has “no way of contacting my daughter” because “she’s cut me off completely.”
“She’d be nothing without me. I made her the Duchess she is today,” he continued, adding that “it would be easier for Meghan if I died” because “everybody would be filled with sympathy with her.”
Thomas, who lives in Mexico, initially decided not to attend his daughter’s wedding after his arrangement with a paparazzi to stage several photoshoots ahead of the big day was revealed.
The next day, he said that he would attend the Windsor wedding — only if doctors signed off on him traveling after he reportedly suffered a heart attack. However, two days before the wedding, Meghan confirmed in an official statement that her father would not walk her down the aisle due to health problems.
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE
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