Meghan Markle hit the ground running when she joined the royal family. However, unlike her sister-in-law Kate Middleton, she did not last long and had to quit her royal duties in less than two years.
Meghan Markle Would Probably Still Be With The Royals If She Followed Kate Middleton's Lead
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex tied the knot in May 2018. However, after just over a year of being senior royals, they quit and decided to step back from their royal duties and moved to California.
Markle admitted that she had a hard time while in the palace. Prince Harry confirmed to have witnessed his wife's struggles.
Royal biographer Tina Brown spoke with Marie Claire when she discussed her new book The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor. She weighed in on what the Duchess of Sussex could have done differently to still be in the palace.
"I think it could have been made to work extremely well," Brown told the outlet when asked if Markle could have made it work as a working royal. "She was beloved by the public when she married Harry."
She continued, "If she had taken things much, much slower than she did—I think Kate was smart to be very, very slow to enter into the public realm. But Meghan really did want to come out with guns blazing as the new global royal. And I think she needed to absorb more of the culture of the Palace and understand the minefields there."
She noted that the palace is "very traditional," and they are not decisive. They make decisions "slowly." Also, they are not used to someone like Markle, a formidable American and hard-driving kind of woman. Brown understands that the way the palace operates must be "frustrating" for Markle, who has a career and is used to running her life.
Brown added that aside from being so different, the former Suits star probably "felt incredibly disempowered," especially since she was the only woman of color in a white fortress. Princess Diana's former biographer speculated that Prince Harry's wife felt she would never be comfortable in that culture.
Prince Harry May Have Contributed To Meghan Markle Having A Hard Time In The Palace
When Brown spoke with Page Six, she praised Prince William for preparing his wife Kate Middleton for the royal life before he officially introduced her to the world as his future queen. He also called the future king "smart" for taking his time before he proposed to the Duchess of Cambridge.
"He was absolutely sure she could handle it before they married," Brown said. "She was trained. Nobody was deluded like Meghan was, it seems."
Prince Harry could have done the same for his wife. However, he and Markle didn't wait long to tie the knot, only to realize shortly that she didn't want to be stuck in the palace. Brown felt that the Duke of Sussex did not exert much effort to help Markle adjust with the royal life because, he, himself, wanted to leave the firm.
"I also think Harry is a very explosive and reckless individual; I think he wanted out," Brown told Marie Claire. "They both really understood their star power, which was greater than being No. 6 in line to the throne for best assignments, getting in line for all the honors and privileges and all the rest that came along with it. And they felt that they could do better broken off from it. I’m not sure they were right, actually, but they seem to be happy in Montecito."
Stay tuned for more news and updates about Prince William, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, and the rest of the members of the royal family.