THE Queen has a “spring in her step” despite being dealt a number of blows by Prince Harry and Meghan Meghan Markle over the last year, a royal expert has said.
Her Majesty, 95, appeared in fine form this month as she marked her official birthday and charmed world leaders at the G7 Summit.
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It comes just two months after the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral and weeks after claims she was “never asked” about her great-grandaughter’s name Lilibet.
But after more than a year living in strict Covid conditions, it seems Her Majesty has finally come out of the other side.
“There’s a new spring in her step,” the Queen’s former press secretary Dickie Arbiter told the Sun Online.
“She’s had a lot to contend with but she’s come out of it. She’s very stoic, very pragmatic.
“I think she’s being very cheery, but then we’re all coming out of lockdown, we’re all coming out of restrictions – unless we can be positive about it, why be gloomy?”
The monarch, “who enjoys meeting people”, left Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron chuckling as she cracked jokes at Cornwall’s Eden Project and gave a hilarious reply when told she was “a hit” with guests.
She even insisted on using a ceremonial sword to slice a cake during a royal engagement – leaving onlookers in fits of giggles.
Her show of high spirits came just weeks after a war of words erupted over whether Meghan and Harry had told Her Majesty they were naming their daughter Lilibet – the Queen’s childhood nickname – and appeared to make small fry of the Sussexes’ exit from royal life.
“She has had knock backs – obviously the biggest one is the death of Prince Philip on April 9,” Mr Arbiter said.
“Plus the Harry and Meghan he says she says – the Oprah interview, the Apple documentary on mental health.”
The former royal aide added that “not being able to see anybody” while isolating in ‘HMS Bubble’ at Windsor Castle during the pandemic “must have been very difficult” for the Queen.
But despite her set backs, he believes she is “coping incredibly well”.
“It’s all about duty,” he said.
“It’s not about turning your back on family issues, but life does have to go on and with her life does go on.”
And the idea that any royal drama would sway her from the throne is “absolute nonsense”.
“I remember her telling me once she she doesn’t change, she adapts – and we’ve seen her adapt during the course of this pandemic,” Mr Arbiter said.
“She hasn’t got her soul mate any more, she’s having to adapt without him.
“She’s got her family and the family are rallying around her but she’s also not walking away from anything yet.”
He said the Queen was “no more going to step down at 95” than he was “going to jump off the London Eye”.
“It’s the whole of her life,” he added.
“So don’t write the Queen off. She’s fit , she’s healthy, she’s hale, she’s hearty. She could go on as her mother and live until her 102nd year. She’s got a spring in her step and she’s enjoying life.”
