Queen Elizabeth makes first appearance since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle interview

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has made her first appearance since a tell-all interview by grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan rocked the monarchy, but made no reference to the crisis it had caused her family.

During the Oprah Winfrey interview, Meghan said a member of the royal family had made a racist comment and Harry criticised his relatives for how they dealt with press treatment of his wife, with the fallout dominating the British media since it aired last Sunday.

On Thursday, Harry’s elder brother Prince William told reporters “we’re very much not a racist family”, the day after the 94-year-old monarch herself issued a statement on behalf of the royals in which she said they were saddened by how challenging the couple had found the last few years.

The Sun newspaper, citing an unnamed source, said Harry’s father, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, had wanted to issue a point by point rebuttal, but the royal family had decided not to get involved in a ‘tit for tat’ battle.

In a video call with scientists and schoolchildren to mark British Science Week, the queen did not refer to the interview at all, the royals’ usual approach to what they have said was a private, family matter.

Instead she discussed the latest updates from NASA’s Mars Perseverance mission, as well as the discovery of a rare meteorite which landed in Gloucestershire, western England last month, the first to be recovered in the United Kingdom for 30 years.

“I’m glad it didn’t hit anyone,” the queen quipped during the “virtual showcase”, which took place on Wednesday although details were only released by Buckingham Palace on Friday.

When told by space scientist and broadcaster Maggie Aderin-Pocock that she had been inspired to follow her career by the exploits of Russian Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space in 1961, Elizabeth, who has reigned for 69 years, recounted that she had met him shortly afterwards at Buckingham Palace.

Asked what he was like, she replied: “Russian, he didn’t speak English. He was fascinating and I suppose being the first one, it was particularly fascinating.”

The Queen has made her first public appearance since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah aired.

On Wednesday — the same day she released a statement in response to the royal tell-all — Her Majesty attended a virtual event to mark British Science Week.

The monarch spoke with scientists, educators and students from Windsor Castle, where she continues to be based due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

RELATED: Prince William defiant in first public comments about Oprah interview
Queen on video call
It's business as usual for Her Majesty. (Buckingham Palace/supplied)
In one session, she heard about the new updates from NASA's Mars Perseverance mission, calling the images "fascinating".

"It's unbelievable, really, to think one can actually see its surface," she told scientists.

Queen Elizabeth also recalled her meeting with Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet Cosmonaut who became the first person in space, following his return to Earth in 1961.

"It was very interesting to meet him. And I suppose being the first one [in space], it was particularly fascinating," she said.

"It's unbelievable, really, to think one can actually see its surface." (Buckingham Palace/Supplied)
Her Majesty wasn't the only royal continuing with duties in the wake of the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes' explosive claims.

Throughout the week, Prince Charles, Prince William and Kate Middleton, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex have all made official appearances.

The Queen expressed her concern over claims made by Harry and Meghan in the Oprah interview — particularly around racism in the palace — in her statement, shared by the palace on Wednesday.

Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview contained explosive claims about the royal family. (AP)
"The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan," it read.

"The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.

"Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members."

The duke and duchess both spoke fondly of Her Majesty in the interview, Meghan saying she had found the Queen "warm and inviting and really welcoming".

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"The Queen has always been wonderful to me ... I just really loved being in her company," the actress-turned-royal told Oprah.

Harry said he had spoken to his grandmother more since resigning as a senior royal in 2020 than he had in many years.

"I have a deep respect for her ... She's my colonel-in-chief, right? She always will be," he added.