A teenager who shared an ‘amazing’ hug with Meghan Markle outside Windsor Castle yesterday during an outpouring of grief for the late Queen said she wanted to show the Duchess that she’s ‘still welcome here’.
Amelka Zak, 14, lined up with hundreds of other well-wishers on Saturday as the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a surprise appearance together at the gates of the castle.
The royal mother-of-two, who stepped back from royal duty last year and now lives in her $14 million mansion in the US, spent time chatting with Amelka before the pair embraced.
‘Amazing moment’: Teenager Amelka Zak, 14, is seen embracing the duchess during the walkabout in Windsor to view the floral tributes to The Queen yesterday
The teenager told CNN that she was happy to see the Princes and their wives reunited
The ‘fab four’ reunited at Windsor to mourn the death of The Queen; it was the first time the couples have been together in public since March 2020
Amelka told CNN that she had wanted to share a hug to show the royal that she was still liked by British people.
She said: ‘We were just waiting for her to come and she came near me and asked my name and how my day was, how long I was waiting.
‘And I asked her if I could have a hug, and she hugged me back. It was quite an amazing moment. I’m still shaking now.’
The startled teenager said she wanted to offer a warm welcome to the American after ‘everything that’s happened’.
‘Everyone was kind of cheering me on and I guess I felt like I needed to in the way, because I look up to her in someway and it felt like the right thing to do.’
She explained that she’d enjoying seeing the Princes reunited, saying: ‘It was quite nice to see William and Kate and Megan and Harry together.
‘And it was fine, but I just wanted to like show her that she’s, like, welcome here, I guess. And wanted to hug her after everything that’s happened, really, now.’
Surprise embrace: Amelka said: ‘I asked her if I could have a hug, and she hugged me back. It was quite an amazing moment. I’m still shaking now.’
After the Duchess of Sussex touched the teen on the shoulder the pair chatted
She revealed that with ‘everyone cheering me on’ she decided to ask the royal for a hug
The pair then shared a warm embrace, with Amelka saying the moment left her shaking afterwards
As Meghan walked away to chat to other guests, she touched the teenager’s elbow
Prince William and Kate Middleton, and Meghan and Harry appeared in black at Windsor Castle on Saturday evening to inspect the sea of floral tributes laid outside the gates of the Berkshire estate in tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The reunion marks the first time that the two couples have all appeared in public since Commonwealth Day on March 9, 2020, just weeks before the Covid lockdown.
Harry and Meghan, who quit frontline duties two years ago to strike out on their own in California and then levied a series of bombshell allegations against The Firm, held hands as they looked at the tributes, with Harry at one point affectionately putting his hand on Meghan’s back.
They were seen pointing at different tributes and discussing them as members of the crowd waved at them.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex view the tributes left after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, at Windsor Castle on Saturday
Harmony? The Princes appeared to have put their troubles to one side to honour the Queen’s memory
One well-wisher who spoke to Harry and Meghan told MailOnline: ‘It’s lovely to see them both together. Maybe they can get back to a proper relationship.
‘Lovely ripple went through the crowd as they approached. Hopefully the healing between Harry and his brother can start now. I’m just so excited to have seen them both together. It’s lovely.’
Another mourner said: ‘We couldn’t believe it when the gates opened, and we saw William and Harry walk down with Meghan and Kate. I’ll be honest there was a little bit of a groan when Harry and Meghan came down our side, but I passed him a bunch of flowers and he was happy to take them.
‘I’m pleased that they came out together and as a family I’m delighted that they all took the time to come and say hello to the crowds. Sad things like funerals bring families together so I hope that when they get back to California they think long and hard about everything that’s happened.’
It comes after it was reported King Charles ‘told’ Prince Harry not to bring wife Meghan to Balmoral Castle as he and other senior royals rushed to the beside of the dying Queen.
King Charles says he wants ‘to express my love for Harry and Meghan’ as he extends olive branch to the US-based prince and his wife
King Charles III extended an olive branch to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in his first address to Britain and the world as monarch yesterday.
The new Sovereign, who became King the moment that his mother Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Thursday afternoon at Balmoral Castle aged 96, said he wished to ‘express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas’ – in a move likely to be regarded by royal commentators as a bid to finally draw a line under the tumult of recent years.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex on the long Walk at Windsor Castle to greet well-wishers
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex plunged the monarchy into crisis during the twilight years of the Queen’s reign after sensationally quitting frontline royal duties and moving to California two years ago – a saga which precipitated the rift between Harry and his brother William, allegations of racism against the royals and claims the Firm failed to help a suicidal Meghan.
After their bombshell interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey, Harry appeared to suggest, in a mental health podcast, that his father and the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh had all failed as parents – while the family was still mourning Prince Philip’s death last year.
The Duke of Sussex had grief etched on his face as he was swept into the grounds of Windsor Castle this afternoon after losing a race against time to get to his grandmother’s bedside before she died yesterday.
King Charles III went to Buckingham Palace to meet fellow mourners this afternoon where he shook hands and accepted their condolences to cries of ‘God save the King’ and impromptu renditions of the national anthem. One woman kissed him on the cheek. He also inspected flowers and tributes left for his late mother at the gates before entering the palace.
Harry landed at Heathrow yesterday lunchtime after jumping on an early morning BA flight where he comforted an airport worker with a reassuring hand on her shoulder after she gave him her condolences.
He left Balmoral after 12 hours mourning his grandmother with his father and brother – but despite the brevity of the visit, the Sussexes are not expected to return to California until after the state funeral, currently expected to be ten days from now on Monday, September 19.
The Duke of Sussex was the last royal to arrive at the Aberdeenshire castle on Thursday and the first to leave on Friday morning.
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