An eventful day! Queen Elizabeth II was all smiles as she appeared at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in England following a week of engagements in Scotland.
The monarch, 95, was spotted having a fun time at the jumping competition, which took place at Windsor Castle on Friday, July 2. This was the first public event for the queen since she and Prince Charles chose not to attend Princess Diana‘s statue unveiling.
“The royals wanted to keep it very personal and not have many family members in attendance since that would be a takeaway from the special moment,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly after the reveal on Thursday, July 1. “This wasn’t a last-minute decision; it was decided on a few weeks ago that the other royals wouldn’t be attending. Meghan [Markle] just had her baby, [Duchess] Kate watched from afar with the kids, and same with the Queen. Charles had said he didn’t want to be a distraction.”
While Elizabeth did not attend alongside Prince William and Prince Harry, she will eventually be visiting the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, where the tribute for the late Princess of Wales is now on display for the public.
“The royals will certainly be visiting at a later time,” the insider added. “Out of respect for Harry and William, they wanted it to be just about Diana’s sons and not a huge public affair. Kate was definitely supporting William while physically not being there and really wanted to attend, but the family as a whole decided it was best for the kids and her to stay at home.”
Tensions have been heightened between the queen and the Duke of Sussex, 36, after his CBS tell-all interview with Meghan, 39, in March, followed by his comments about royal life during a May episode of the “Armchair Expert” podcast.
A source told Us that Elizabeth was “unimpressed” after Harry compared growing up in the royal family to “a mix between The Truman Show and living in a zoo.”
The relationship between the queen and her grandson has since improved after the birth of Harry and Meghan’s daughter, Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, on June 4.
“The queen was one of the first people Harry and Meghan told about the birth and they’ve sent her photos,” a source told In Touch after the couple welcomed their second child. “She has put the drama from the interviews aside and is overjoyed to be a great-grandmother again.”
Harry and Meghan, who also share son Archie, 2, chose to honor Diana and the queen when it came to choosing their daughter’s name.
“Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet,” the pair wrote in a statement on their Archewell website at the time.
Following the announcement, another source told Us that the pair, who “have a huge amount of respect for the queen,” checked in with Elizabeth about the name beforehand.
“They had a shortlist with a few other options, but this was always their favorite,” a source told Us. “It was important for them that the queen signed off though and that didn’t happen until right before the birth. They both agreed it would only be right if Her Majesty gave her approval, especially with something so personal. … He and Meghan both love Lili.”
Scroll down to see Elizabeth’s time at the show:
