WHEN Meghan Markle married Prince Harry at St. George’s Chapel in May 2018, it signalled a new era for the Royal Family
But what the actress, 43, has since admitted she wasn’t aware of was how long it would take her to learn the ropes of royal life.
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From curtsying to higher-ranking royals and archaic etiquette rules to living with an army of staff and representing the monarch at high-profile events every month, there was a lot for the new Duchess of Sussex to learn.
Such protocols can take years to understand and get right – and some, Meghan assumed, were a “joke”.
During her 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, she recalled the moment Prince Harry asked if she knew how to curtsy.
She admitted: “We were in the car, driving and he’s like: ‘You know how to curtsy right?’
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“I just thought it was a joke.”
Given she was from the US and had a dazzling career in Hollywood, it was understandable that Meghan would have to adjust to royal life and learn new things.
However, a new book has now claimed that her lack of knowledge did not stop her from taking charge behind the scenes of the Royal Family.
Royal author Tom Quinn delved into what really happened when Meghan became royalty in Yes, Ma’am: The Secret Life Of Royal Servants…
Awkward encounters
Some of the Duchess’ former staff told Quinn that the early meetings between Meghan and those working at Kensington Palace were awkward.
One said: “It was extraordinary because she was so confident that you could see she wanted to run the meeting rather than learn about the Royal Family through the meeting.
“She was a great believer in grabbing the bull by the horns – except the Royal Family is not really a bull.”
Another divulged: “Meghan thought she knew better than an institution that has been in business for 1,000 years and more.”
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Palace staff shared the consensus that Meghan was overconfident in her new role, which may have been fueled by Harry being “the last person to want to tell her to slow down”.
This was observed by Princess Diana’s acquaintance, Tina Brown, a writer known for her 2007 biography, The Diana Chronicles.
The expert wrote in her 2022 book, The Palace Papers: “They were both now drunk on a shared fantasy of being instruments of global transformation who, once married, would operate in the celebrity stratosphere once inhabited by Princess Diana.
“Meghan couldn’t and wouldn’t bide her time to get there. She was 36. This was her big break.”
Messiah complex
Another of Harry and Meghan’s former staffers claimed that the Duchess had a “Messiah complex”.
A Messiah complex is where an individual believes they are destined to save or redeem others, tinged with an inflated sense of self-importance and control.
In Quinn’s 2025 book, he penned that Meghan was focused on how she could become the best known and most loved member of the Royal Family.
So much so, the Palace was allegedly concerned that the new royal’s plans for her life weren’t compatible with the pre-approved programme.
Duchess of Difficult
An ex-aide suggested that Meghan didn’t understand that, when joining the Royal Family, “you don’t do as you please, you do as you’re told”.
It was also reported that she said: “What Diana started, I want to finish.”
Sources claimed that the late Queen handed the new Duchess some of her trusted hands to help her learn the ropes.
However, Meghan reportedly turned away Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Lady Susan Hussey.
Her alleged ‘Meghan-knows-best’ attitude is said to have upset Kensington Palace staff.
In fact, an old guard attributed their dislike of someone from the United States trying to change things to the monarch’s employees being “terrific snobs”.
Quinn’s book added that Meghan was given the nickname Duchess of Difficult by some staff.
That being said, some ordinary staff liked her feisty and change-hungry nature, and viewed her more as Duchess Different.