THE HELPER QUEEN

The monarch is keen to avoid the mistakes made when Princess Diana was alive. Accused of putting undue pressure on Diana and freezing her out, the queen seemed to go out of her way to make the transition into the royal family smooth for her granddaughters-in-law Kate and Meghan. Coaching Kate

Her Majesty frequently singled her out to accompany her at various engagements soon after Kate and William’s wedding. “She made huge efforts with Kate and managed her process as a duchess with care.”

One early appearance at a university in Leicester was “like a theatre production where a very experienced director didn’t want the new actress to fluff her lines”, says Professor Dominic Shellard, vice-chancellor of the varsity. “The queen wanted it to be a seamless production.” Minding Meghan

The monarch appeared to bend over backwards to welcome Meghan into the fold after she married Harry – something that endeared her to a world entranced with the Hollywood starlet.

The queen seems determined to help Meghan adapt. She needs “more help to adjust to life inside the royal family than the already poised Kate Middleton did”, Daily Mail columnist Richard Kay writes. “Unlike Kate, she doesn’t have a family to fall back on here.”

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