Meghan Markle never intended to leave the royal family until circumstances forced her to make the extreme decision, according to a new claim.
She was reportedly happy with the Duke of Sussex and desperate to shine as his Princess, but a culture clash” made staying impossible, royal expert Simon Vigar unpacks it all in his book “The Four Wives of Windsor.”
“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,” Vigar told Fox News.
The author went on to explain what forced her to step down as senior working royal along with her husband Prince Harry, adding: “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.”
Meghan, a former American actress, became the Duchess of Sussex when she tied the knot with Prince Harry in 2018. The palace announced Meghan’s pregnancy shortly after the couple arrived in Sydney for their royal tour that October.
Vigar covered the royal tour and wrote that it exposed some of the first significant cracks in Meghan’s role as a working royal.
According to Vigar, Meghan was accustomed to a public life where “everything was micromanaged in a far more controlled environment.”
“Those levels of Hollywood control-freakery, as courtiers say, are incompatible with the public service role of the monarchy,” he wrote.
Vigar also quoted an anonymous senior staffer as saying, “My overall sense is Meghan realised it was hard work and not that glamorous. It’s not about you.”
Vigar wrote that during a royal tour, Meghan was scheduled to visit Suva Market in Fiji for an engagement highlighting women’s economic empowerment, but the visit ended earlier than planned. Reports at the time attributed the shortened visit to security concerns as crowds gathered to see Meghan.
“… If it was a security issue, the Scotland Yard bodyguards would never have allowed her to arrive. They have an advanced team there. They have a team with her. They wouldn’t have let her get out of the car if they thought it was a big security issue,” added the expert.
“Was it because it was too chaotic or too hot? Well, it wasn’t chaotic really,” Vigar said.
“It was a very well-planned route through the market. It may have been illness, although that’s not what Team Sussex said.
There was a moment in the market where she looked at one of her assistants and the whole mood changed. It all went fast-forward. And my cameraman was being pushed out of the way.”
Vigar noted that the Duchess of Sussex was working on “an intense schedule” while pregnant during the overseas tour.
“Meghan understood ‘the show’ bit but not the cultural side of the royal family,” one senior aide told Vigar.
2026-08-12 20:49:00
