It's been a busy few weeks for the Royal Family: Prince William and Kate Middleton have announced they're expecting baby number three, the Duke of Edinburgh bowed out of public life after seven decades of service, Prince George started school, and Prince Harry took his girlfriend Meghan Markle to Botswana, Africa for a three-week romance-filled holiday.

However, with rumours of an imminent proposal from Harry to Meghan, it appears Queen Elizabeth II recently found a time and date in her busy schedule to finally meet her grandson's girlfriend.

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US Weekly reports that Markle recently met her boyfriend's grandmother, almost one year after she started up a romance with the prince.

The publication reports the Suits star's meeting with the Queen occurred on 3 September, days after she returned to Blighty following her holiday with her beau, where it was rumoured the pair got engaged.

The meeting reportedly took place when Harry and Meghan visited Birkhall in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with his father Prince Charles and stepmother Camilla.

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A source close to the prince told the publication the holiday was a two- day trip that gave Harry the chance to visit Scotland as he 'hadn't been up yet all summer' and facilitate the meeting between the two most important women in his life as 'he wanted to introduce Meghan to the queen'.

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Queen Elizabeth was seven miles away from the estate, at her summer residence, Balmoral Castle.

According to reports, the couple visited the queen's summer estate which is just seven miles from Birchall and the meeting 'went well.'

'It'll no doubt be the first of many encounters,' the source said. 'The entire weekend was a success. He [Harry] was able to introduce someone he loves to someone he cares for deeply.'

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The meeting is quite the shock for some royal fans, who will be aware that it took five years for Prince William to introduce his now wife Kate Middleton to the head of the Monarchy.

Surely we're only weeks away from an engagement announcement, now?

Come on Harry and Megs, we haven't got all day.

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Katie O'Malley
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Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.