Meghan Markle had a fairytale wedding in 2018, but she was given a quick reality check when she learned that Prince Harry was simply the “spare” to Prince William‘s “heir.”
“She was being told what to do. She was being told where to go, and she was being told how to do it. And she wasn’t taking a starring role,” royal expert Ingrid Seward told an outlet.
“She was married to the number two man, not the number one man, which would have been William. That was definitely when the rot began to sort of fester a little bit,” Seward noted.
Meghan’s confusion surrounding her role continued to follow her throughout her brief royal career. OK! previously reported a royal author claimed the Duchess of Sussex assumed she would be compensated for her time down under.
“On the South Pacific tour, Harry and Meghan were going down a storm,” Valentine Lowe wrote in Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown. “Massive crowds were turning out to see them, and Meghan’s refreshingly informal approach to royal visits was proving a hit with the Australian public.”
“Behind the scenes, however, it was a different story,” Lowe continued. “Although she enjoyed the attention, Meghan failed to understand the point of all those walkabouts, shaking hands with countless strangers. According to several members of staff, she was heard to say on at least one occasion: ‘I can’t believe I’m not getting paid for this.'”
Aside from Meghan’s naivety, the former actress admitted in Harry & Meghan that she struggled to feel accepted by the Windsors.
“We landed in Canada and one of our security guards who had been with H for so long, and these guys were so wonderful, I just collapsed in his arms crying,” Meghan said in the docuseries.
“I was like: ‘I tried so hard,’ and he was like: ‘I know you did. I know you did ma’am, I know you did,'” she said. “Like I tried so hard. And that’s the piece that’s really triggering because you go: ‘And it still wasn’t good enough. And you still don’t fit in.'”
In addition to misunderstanding protocol, the Suits star painted William and Kate Middleton as rigid.
“I was a hugger and have always been a hugger. I didn’t realize that that was really jarring for a lot of Brits,” Meghan recalled in an episode of her tell-all. “I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside.”
“There is a forward-facing way of being, and then you close the door and you are like, ‘Oh, great. We can relax now.’ But that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me,” Meghan admitted.
Now that the Sussexes are in the U.S., royal watchers wonder if Meghan will use her royal title to find success in Hollywood.
“Meghan’s ultimate aim seems to be to make herself relevant and to transform herself into American royalty who is admired and powerful, independent of her husband,” psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig told an outlet. “Whether this will be successful remains to be seen, as the public has not always been receptive to many aspects of her character and personality.”