Meghan Markle Shares Sweet Embrace with Teen: ‘I Wanted to Show Her She’s Welcome Here’

The Duchess of Sussex joined Prince Harry, Prince William and Kate on a walkabout at Windsor Castle following Queen Elizabeth’s death

Meghan Markleis connecting with supporters.

The Duchess of Sussex, 41, joined her husband Prince Harry and in-laws Prince William and Kate Middleton for a surprise walkabout at Windsor Castle on Saturday, two days after the death of Queen Elizabeth. Touring the deluge of tributes and greeting well-wishers gathered at the gates for about 40 minutes, Meghan warmly hugged a teen girl, who opened up to CNN about what the gesture meant.

“We were just waiting for her to come, and she just came near me and asked my name, and how my day was, how long I as waiting,” the 14-year-old girl said of the moment. “I asked if she could have a hug, and she hugged me back. It was just quite an amazing moment. I’m still shaking now.”

Asked by correspondent Scott McLean on why she reached out, the teen said she felt compelled “because I look up to her in some ways, and it just felt like it was the right thing to do.”

"Oh my gosh, I was not expecting them to be there."

CNN's @scottmclean caught up with the girl who got a hug from the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle. She said she wanted to show the Duchess that "she is welcome here…" pic.twitter.com/kENrdqpNDS

— Connect the World (@CNNConnect) September 11, 2022

McLean asked, “Why do you feel a bit of sympathy for her? Just because of the Queen’s passing or because of her relationship with the royal family?”

“I guess both. It was quite nice to see William and Kate and Meghan and Harry together,” she said. “I just wanted to show her that she’s welcome here and wanted to hug her after everything that’s happened.”

Dressed in black, the foursome spoke with onlookers and toured the emotional tributes left for the late monarch, who died Thursday at age 96.

Kensington Palace says William, 40, invited the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to join him and Kate, 40, who was recently named Princess of Wales, alongside her husband’s new Prince of Wales title.

Another source adds that security was not expecting both couples at the walkabout.

Prince William thought the walkabout to greet the crowds “was an important show of unity at an incredibly difficult time for the family,” a royal source tells PEOPLE.

A palace insider tells PEOPLE: “It’s such an extraordinary historical moment and also a deeply personal one for the family that you’d hope and think that all members of the family would unite and support [the King] especially. And perhaps some of those wounds can be healed in the process.”

“This is a time of change for my family,” the new sovereign explained in his inaugural address to the kingdom. With Charles’ rise in rank, Harry and Meghan’s children — Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1 — are now sixth and seventh in line, respectively.

In a sweet message for his younger son and his wife, King Charles added, “I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas.”

[via]