The Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit royal life in 2020, and a veteran royal correspondent has now laid bare the struggles Meghan Markle faced as a working royal, citing a “culture clash” and “egos” on both sides.
Culture Clash and Misunderstandings
Simon Vigar, one of Britain's longest-serving royal correspondents, discussed the reasons behind Meghan's short-lived royal career in his book The Four Wives of Windsor. He told Fox News Digital: “There was a culture clash there. I think it's a crying shame. It was avoidable, and egos got in the way on both sides.
“I think she thought that there would be more control over events, public events, than there was. ... The narrative now is that the British media was always against Harry and Meghan. That is not how I remember it, and many of my colleagues remember it.”
A Natural with the Public
Vigar went on to call Harry and Meghan “great”, referring to the duchess as “an absolute natural” with the public. However, he said that he does not think the 45-year-old duchess understood how little control she would have in royal duty.
Their Own Words
In their 2022 Netflix docuseries “Harry and Meghan”, the couple said they would have done royal duty forever if they could have done without scrutiny. Harry argued that leaving royal life was the only way to keep his family safe.
Speaking about their final royal engagements, Harry said: “We weren't with the family. It was our opportunity to go out with a bang, to be honest. It never needed to be this way. We talked about this over and over again, sitting up late after these late-night engagements, saying 'We would have carried on doing this for the rest of our lives'.”
