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Meghan Markle and Archie Spoke with the Queen Before Prince Philip's Funeral, Says Source

While Meghan Markle couldn't attend Prince Philip's funeral last Saturday, she connected with her grandmother-in-law Queen Elizabeth ahead of the service.

The Duchess of Sussex watched the funeral from her and Prince Harry's home in Montecito as she was not cleared for travel by her physician at this stage in her pregnancy. Meghan is expecting the couple's second child — a baby girl — this summer.

"Meghan spoke with Harry before his grandfather's funeral," a source tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "Meghan and Archie also spoke with the Queen earlier this week."

RELATED: Prince Harry and Prince William 'Drifted to Each Other Like the Old Days' at Prince Philip's Funeral

In February, Harry said that the family of three had been doing video calls with the Queen and Prince Philip amid the pandemic. "Both my grandparents do Zoom," Harry told James Corden. "They've seen Archie running around."

CHRIS JACKSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Prince Harry

Jonathan Brady - WPA Pool/Getty Images Queen Elizabeth

Harry's return to Britain for the funeral last week meant leaving Meghan and their nearly 2-year-old son Archie at home in California and quarantining for several days at Frogmore Cottage, the Windsor home he and Meghan shared before moving to the U.S. and which they still maintain as a U.K. base.

"Meghan and Harry have been in touch every day," the source adds. "She knows the trip to England has been difficult for Harry. He didn't want to leave Meghan and Archie alone. Meghan has insisted to him every day though that they are fine. She hasn't wanted him to worry."

After a tense year apart, Harry, who returned home to California on Tuesday, also reunited with his brother Prince William at the funeral.

"It has been a very difficult time," a well-connected royal insider tells PEOPLE of the past year. "The Duke was the head of the family, and if there were any time they were going to come together, it's now."

Gareth Fuller/WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince William and Prince Harry

BBC Kate Middleton, Prince Harry and Prince William

The brothers are unlikely to meet again before July, when they are due to unveil a statue in honor of their late mother, Princess Diana. "They've had massive input," says a senior palace source. "It's their project."

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In the meantime, those with knowledge of the situation hope the brothers will come together out of a respect for another woman who bonds them: their grandmother, the Queen, who "absorbs things quietly," says her former spokesman, Charles Anson.