Meghan Markle is ‘walking a very tight rope’ in the royal family thanks to her controversial views, expert warns
LOOKING back, it is hard to believe that just 12 months have passed since Meghan formally joined the royal family. And what a year it’s been.
The mutual adoration between her and Harry still shines as bright as Meghan’s Hollywood smile, while their youthful values have been a huge shot in the arm for the royal family.
Then, of course, there’s the arrival of a certain royal baby, Archie Harrison, who was born last Monday morning.
“Meghan has brought tremendous new qualities to The Firm,” says an inside source. “Her values as a committed feminist and philanthropist chime perfectly with Harry, who is a far more sensitive soul than his public image suggests.”
It was just 18 months ago that Meghan wowed the world with her natural warmth, relaxing on a sofa with her “soulmate” to announce their engagement.
There was an unmistakable sense that a big change was underway – one that was very much for the better.
But since that wedding ceremony last May, the couple have enjoyed decidedly mixed blessings.
As well as the highs of the baby announcement and the launch of their own official Instagram account @Sussexroyal, there have also been countless reports of royal rifts and PR gaffes.
“It’s impossible to please all the people all of the time, and they’re not miracle workers,” says our Palace insider. “But there are many traditionalists who have become very uncomfortable with the way the Sussexes are ripping up the royal rule book, which is slowly – inevitably – leaking out now.”
So what happened? Has Meghan morphed into Princess Pushy 2.0, or is it a case of snooty Palace dinosaurs raging at her modern millennial ways? “It’s extremely unfair to lay all the blame for their PR issues at Meghan’s feet,” says the source.
“Yes, some people think she is entitled, and you need a degree in gobbledygook to understand some of her public statements. But a lot of the misunderstandings stem from Harry being overprotective.”
It all started in the lead-up to the big day. Wedding fever gripped the nation, but not everyone was happy, with some Palace insiders complaining that the normally relaxed Harry was barking orders designed to protect his fiancée, who had been demanding everything from air fresheners in the historic church to a tiara reserved for the very top echelons of royalty.
Meanwhile, minor tiffs about the children’s roles at the ceremony reduced Kate Middleton to tears.
Of course, pre-wedding nerves and Bridezilla demands aren’t confined to aristocrats and celebrities, and Meghan’s natural, down-to-earth demeanour on official engagements seemed to outweigh any understandable lapses of decorum in private. But storm clouds were starting to gather.
From the wedding day in Windsor, where showbiz royalty rubbed shoulders with the real thing, there were more signs of the trouble to come.
For every breathless fan cooing over the likes of George and Amal Clooney as they glided into St George’s Chapel, there was another more traditional royalist wondering where Meghan’s family were.
Her father pulled out of walking her down the aisle just days before, and reports of heart problems were muddied by a row over backhanders with paparazzi.
Her disgruntled half-brother and sister were publicly complaining about their treatment, while Piers Morgan was giving interviews about how she’d “ghosted” him after meeting Harry.
However, she could rely on one extremely important ally: the Queen. Meghan had charmed the woman Harry knows as Granny from day one – notably by proving a hit with her beloved dogs.
As the wedding celebrations segued into an evening of dancing and drinking, some Palace insiders raised a disapproving eyebrow.
Centre stage was George Clooney, pouring shots of his own-brand Casamigos tequila, while Oprah Winfrey, who Meghan hadn’t known for very long, held court to the bowing masses.
“It was a sign of things to come, and not in a good way,” recalls our insider. “What better way for George Clooney to promote his booze than serving it up at a royal wedding?
The only member of Meghan’s family there was her mum Doria, and she barely made a squeak compared to all the superstars who dominated the occasion.”
After their wedding – and a honeymoon so secret the details are still unknown – they got down to business (in every sense, given how quickly Meghan was to fall pregnant).
Dublin was their first port of call, acting as a dry run for their lengthy winter tour. Meghan proved to be a safe pair of hands with the public and Harry was clearly proud as punch for the world to see his beautiful new bride in action.
Summer was spent making a few public appearances and some downtime, during which Meghan underwent a crash course of “duchess lessons” from a courtier.
But problems set in when the couple angered some by announcing their pregnancy to senior royals at Princess Eugenie’s wedding in October last year, upstaging Harry’s cousin on her special day.
The reaction to the public announcement, however – which happened as the couple arrived in Sydney for their tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga – was widely positive.
What’s more, Meghan’s fondness for making right-on speeches was proving a hit with younger royal fans.
But this did not go down well with everybody.
“I don’t think the royal family are ready for any feminist comments at all,” says Ingrid Seward, royal expert and editor of Majesty Magazine.
“Some of the more old-fashioned courtiers recoil when they hear some of the things that Meghan says and is liable to say.
“They feel it might get her into trouble. She might be putting her feet into the political abyss. The royal family don’t talk about politics. Meghan is walking a very, very tight rope there.”
And she has continued to do so, with the full backing of her husband.
The winds of change were blowing hard, though, and by November, news had emerged that Harry and Meghan were preparing to break away from William and Kate to form their own Firm.
Behind this tantalising titbit was another, altogether less edifying rumour: Meghan and Kate were not getting on.
Some of the more old-fashioned courtiers recoil when they hear some of the things that Meghan says and is liable to say. Meghan is walking a very, very tight rope there.
Ingrid Seward
Insiders noticed that the closeness displayed by Harry, William and Kate when they embarked on their Heads Together campaign to raise awareness of mental health issues in 2017 had faded fast.
Suddenly Prince Harry’s household was leaking like a sieve as exasperated courtiers struggled to cope with the pace of change.
Three members of their staff quit amid talk of high-handed behaviour, 5am emails and the now infamous line from Harry: “What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.”
Then came the worst own goal yet when Meghan’s American roots and Hollywood connections combined to create the perfect storm: a baby shower in New York in February costing around an incredible £345,000.
Kensington Palace hurriedly declared that the trip was “privately funded” – seeing off talk of wasting taxpayers’ money – but it still didn’t look great. Who cares if your pal Serena Williams paid your hotel bill when the amount for just three nights -£162,000 – can buy you a four-bedroom in some parts of the UK?
It was subsequently reported that the private jet home – at £13,277 per hour – was paid for by George and Amal Clooney.
Meanwhile, the Markle family feud rumbled on.
While Meghan’s halfbrother Thomas Jr and halfsister Samantha had given frequent unflattering interviews to the press, for many months there remained hopes that her relationship with her father could be repaired.
Those hopes were incinerated when Meghan reportedly gave her blessing to a group of friends “telling all” about their fractured relationship to a US tabloid magazine.
They countered the stories being peddled by Meghan’s family of high-handedness on her part by pointing out that her father carried most of the blame for their estrangement.
Comparisons with Harry’s mother Diana – herself no stranger to using the media to her advantage – were inevitable.
The die was cast: like his mum, Harry was not going to be pushed around by stuffy Palace protocol, and neither was Meghan.
It was no surprise, then, when the Instagram account @Sussexroyal was created at the beginning of April, giving the couple a way of communicating directly with the public. Within a fortnight they had garnered nearly 5 million followers.
Harry’s rebirth as a metrosexual “woke” millennial has been confirmed by his recent speech at a WE Day event in the SSE Arena in Wembley, in which he told a crowd of cheering youngsters they could be the “greatest generation of all time”.
Appealing to his youthful audience, he urged them to “exceed expectations, eliminate plastics, conserve water, protect wildlife and their unique habitat”. Then, inevitably, Meghan was brought on to deafening cheers.
Shortly after that, their pleas for privacy around the birth of their child may have caused eye-rolls among the traditional royal fan-case, but it’s done them no harm among their younger supporters.
Last month came the news that Harry is making a series with Oprah Winfrey exploring issues around mental health for Apple TV+.
Like his aunt Sarah Ferguson, he has found that American outlets can be significantly more supportive of groundbreaking royal ventures than broadcasters back home.
Predictably, it didn’t please traditionalists or the critics who accused Harry and Meghan of “stealing” Kate’s mental health campaign idea.
But that didn’t stop others voicing their support – or the excitement about the baby reaching fever pitch.
Newborns have a habit of bringing out the best in us all, and it’s already a given that Archie will bring back the smiles of that glorious wedding day, when the world fell in love with Duchess Meghan.
More on the royal family
And modern dad’ Prince Harry has been changing Archie’s nappies.
Meanwhile, Meghan’s dad, Thomas, who has been frozen out by Meghan, spoke of his pride at the birth of the baby – his sixth grandson.