How Meghan Markle delighted the queen with her "Commonwealth" wedding veil, new film shows

Queen Elizabeth II and Duchess Meghan of Sussex smile during their visit to Cheshire, England, on June 14, 2018.

(Photo: Phil Noble/AFP/Getty Images)

Remember that breathtaking wedding veil Meghan Markle wore when she married Prince Harry in May – the one that stretched 16 feet behind her down the aisle and seemed to be edged with a profusion of embroidered flora?

In the rush of images from that day and the worldwide gasping over her exquisite Givenchy wedding gown, you might have missed some of the amazing details of that veil – a secret surprise Meghan had carefully planned for her soon-to-be husband and his family. 

But there was one sharp-eyed 92-year-old great-grandmother in St. George"s Chapel who likely didn"t miss a thing about Markle"s wedding regalia – because it was a florid gesture of homage to her, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Now comes a new book by British journalist and royals historian Robert Hardman, and a companion hour-long British documentary, both called "Queen of the World." The film, airing Monday on HBO (8 EDT/PDT), and co-written and produced by Hardman, aims to explain why the queen is so widely admired around the world.

The film features a segment on Meghan"s veil, documenting how a California-born actress prepared to marry into the royal family by paying tribute to something near and dear to the queen: the Commonwealth of countries she built and strengthened in her 66 years on the throne.

Meghan"s silk-tulle veil was trimmed with hand-embroidered silk-and-organza flowers from each of the 53 countries of the Commonwealth "united in one spectacular floral composition," as Kensington Palace put it at the time. (A California poppy and a Wintersweet flower from the palace also were included in the design.) 

“It was important for me, especially now being a part of the royal family, to have all 53 of the Commonwealth countries incorporated,” Meghan, 37, now the Duchess of Sussex, says in the film as she examines her wedding outfit for the first time since the nuptials.

Queen Elizabeth II prepares to record a radio address in the film "Queen of the World" airing on HBO Oct. 1, 2018.

 (Photo: HBO)

She says Harry was surprised and delighted by the veil, created by her gown designer, Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy. 

“I think the other members of the family had a similar reaction and appreciation for the fact that we understand how important this is for us and the role that we play, and the work that we"re going to continue to do within the Commonwealth countries," Meghan adds in her conversation with a royal curator preparing the dress and veil for an upcoming exhibit.

“So, yeah, it was good news all around, I think, so I hope people liked it as much as I liked helping to create it.”

Prince Harry and the former Meghan Markle leave after their wedding at St. George"s Chapel in Windsor Castle May 19, 2018.

 (Photo: (Andrew Matthews/pool/via AP)

One person who did is Nick Kent, executive producer of "Queen of the World" and other recent documentaries on the queen. Kent says filmmakers were thrilled when Meghan agreed to be in the latest film, in her first post-wedding interview.

"Meghan had not seen her wedding dress since the day of the wedding, and even on the day she didn"t have a chance to look at it very carefully – most of us think back to our wedding day, and it"s kind of a blur," Kent tells USA TODAY. 

"She had never studied it with the care and attention that she had an opportunity to do (during filming) at Buckingham Palace, and what"s amazing is you see how excited she is when she walks in," Kent says. "The first thing she does is try to find the little fragment of blue fabric (from what she wore on her first date with Harry) she had sewn into the dress as her "something blue."

Sketches of The Duchess of Sussex’s #RoyalWedding dress, designed by Clare Waight Keller, have been released.

The Duchess and Ms. Waight Keller worked closely together on the design, epitomising a timeless minimal elegance referencing the codes of the iconic House of Givenchy. pic.twitter.com/A9ZFKVZmUz

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 20, 2018

"It was a really intimate and spontaneous moment; we never expected to get something that private," Kent says.

Many Americans might wonder what the Commonwealth actually is, but Meghan showed she had done her homework about her new in-laws and her future role as the wife of Harry, 34, the queen"s personal pick as a Commonwealth youth ambassador.

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The new Duke and Duchess of Sussex will get a chance to show their royal chops as a couple Oct. 16 when they embark on their first Commonwealth tour,  a two-week swing through Australia and New Zealand, two major outposts of the old British Empire, and two smaller South Pacific nations, Tonga and Fiji. 

All eyes will be on them, but especially those of his grandmother, the queen, who considers the Commonwealth her "proudest achievement," Kent says. When first established by her father, King George VI, the Commonwealth was just eight countries of a fading empire blown apart by two world wars.

Duchess Meghan of Sussex attended a party to meet young people from across the Commonwealth at the Your Commonwealth Youth Challenge reception at Marlborough House on July 5, 2018 in London.

 (Photo: HBO "Queen of the World")

Decades later, it"s a thriving "family of nations," largely due to Her Majesty, Kent says. The palace desire to showcase that is one reason, Kent says, "why we were given access to her and (interviews with) other members of the royal family," such as her heir, Prince Charles, her daughter, Princess Anne the Princess Royal, and her grandchildren, including Harry.

Still, why does the Commonwealth matter, especially to Americans? Kent argues that, unlike today"s politicians, the queen and the royal family, who are above politics, have done a bang-up job of bringing people together under a unifying set of common core democratic values.

"Empires come and go, and usually their endings are pretty bloody and leave a legacy of deep scars," Kent says. But "the Commonwealth is a rather unique institution that grew up with the legacy of the British Empire, and now it"s trying to find something positive about this experience, to build on it and bring people together for the common good."

: Queen Elizabeth II, flanked by son Prince Charles and daughter Princess Anne, attend one of their favorite events, the annual Braemar Highland Gathering Highland Games on Sept.1, 2018 in Braemar, Scotland.

 (Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Americans shouldn"t mistake the royals  for "an ornamental" tourist draw, Kent says. 

"The monarchy is actually a modern institution serving a real purpose, and if that were not the case, it would not continue to exist," he says. "The reason it has survived for a thousand years and is now riding high is that all its members work really, really hard to justify its existence."

Same goes for the Commonwealth, he says.

"It’s a process that involves all the members of the royal family, so Harry and Meghan going on their first Commonwealth tour, 65 years after the queen and (husband) Prince Philip went on their first tour, means something special."

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