Catherine Oxenberg 'can’t really believe Queen Elizabeth has died'

Catherine Oxenberg "can't really wrap [her] head around" the death of Queen Elizabeth.

The former ‘Dynasty’ star - who is related to the royals via her grandmother Princess Olga of Greece and Denmark, who is the first cousin of Prince Philip - is struggling to come to terms with the death of the monarch, who died on Thursday (08.09.22), aged 96.

The 60-year-old actress told PEOPLE: "Although she's a symbol of permanence, part of me can't really wrap my head around that she's gone."

Catherine recalled being told how to behave by her mother, Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia, when she met the queen for the first time.

She said: "The first time I went to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace was with my mom.

"I can't remember how old I was - ten, maybe. I was very nervous. And I remember my mom trying to teach me to curtsy, which I wasn't very good at. And I said to my mom, 'What do we talk to her about? She's the queen, I don't know what to talk to her about.'"

Catherine was eventually encouraged by her mother to just talk to the queen about "dogs and horses".

And the actress was reminded of the advice she received when she watched the hit Netflix series 'The Crown'.

Catherine shared: "She said, 'Just talk to her about dogs and horses.' And so that's what I did in my very young way. And then years later, I'm watching season one of 'The Crown', and there's this scene, and she says to the person who's with her, she says, 'Why does everybody only talk to me about dogs and horses?' And I died laughing, because it's like, well, that's what my mom told me to do."