Meghan Markle “never really wanted to be accepted by the Royal Family”, it has been claimed. The Duchess of Sussex joined the Firm when she married Prince Harry in 2018. Speaking in her Netflix docuseries, Meghan claimed there was no formal introduction of instruction into royal life or how to follow the Firm’s protocols.
But if “she had been more willing to adapt herself to place life” things could have been different Valentine Low, royal correspondent of The Times reports which is serialising his book, Courtiers: The Hidden Power behind the Crown.
He said: “Some of those who worked with Meghan argue that she never really wanted to be accepted by the royal family. That might be true.
“But if the institution had tried harder, and if she had been more willing to adapt herself to palace life, she could have been one of the royal family’s greatest assets.”
Meghan admitted that she “needed to learn a lot” when she began dating the Duke of Sussex, claiming she didn’t know what a walkabout was.
In the docuseries, she said: “I never saw pictures or videos of a walkabout,” Meghan said. “Like, what’s a walkabout?”
The Duchess recalled the first time she met the late Queen Elizabeth II when Harry asked her if she knew how to curtsy, admitting she “thought it was a joke”.
Prince Harry said: “How do you explain that to people? How do you explain that you bow to your grandmother? And that you would need to curtsy, especially to an American. That’s weird.”
After a few years as senior working royals, the Duke and Duchess made the controversial decision to step down and move to the US in March 2020.
Since then, relations with the rest of the Royal Family have been strained, particularly following the couple’s infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey and the more recent publication of Prince Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’.
Since their departure the couple have only been seen with the rest of the Royal Family on a handful of occasions.
Most recently Harry attended King Charles’ Coronation alone, while Meghan remained in the US with their children, Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two.
The couple took a blow earlier this week when they finally vacated their royal residence of Frogmore Cottage, considered they base when they were in the UK, after being given notice of eviction by the King at the start of this year.
Sir Michael, the King’s most senior financial advisor, said: “We can confirm that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have vacated Frogmore Cottage.
“We will not be going into any detail on those arrangements here, save to say that as has previously been stated, the Duke and Duchess have paid for the expenditure incurred by the Sovereign Grant in relation to the renovation of Frogmore Cottage, thus leaving the Crown with a greatly enhanced asset.”
Extracted from Courtiers: The Hidden Power behind the Crown by Valentine Low, out in paperback on July 6 (Headline, £10.99).
