UNACCEPTABLE: Queen Camilla reportedly gave Meghan Markle advice about being the ‘bad guy’
Queen Camilla reportedly tried to guide Meghan Markle in her early days as a senior member of the Royal Family, following her nuptials to Prince Harry.
Queen Camilla reportedly gave Meghan Markle advice in her early days as a working member of the Royal Family.
The 44-year-old Duchess of Sussex’s life was flipped on its head when she met Prince Harry, 41, on a blind date in London in July 2016. The couple married two years later, and together with Prince William and Kate Middleton, they supported the monarchy at every turn.
However, navigating royal life wasn’t always easy for Meghan. She quickly had to get used to increased press attention, something she turned to Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, for advice. However, what the Queen advised about negative press failed to stick.
In his bombshell memoir, Spare, Prince Harry revealed that the incident involving his stepmother and wife occurred when Meghan was under extensive press scrutiny. She sought advice from Camilla.
Harry explained, “Meg, meanwhile, reached out to Camilla, who tried to counsel her by saying this was just what the press always did to newcomers, that it would all pass in due time, that Camilla had been the bad guy once.
Prince Harry revealed that Camilla told Meghan Markle that all royal newcomers get bad press (Image: Getty)
“The implication being what? Now it was Meg’s turn? As if it were apples to apples.”
When Harry and Meghan got engaged, Camilla gushed about the actress to the press.
She told them, “It’s brilliant and as I said, America’s loss is our gain. We are all absolutely delighted. As you can see, they are so happy.
“Sometimes, you know, in a climate where we are surrounded by a lot of bad news, it’s a real joy to have a bit of good news for once. As I said before, we are delighted.”
However, behind palace doors, not every royal liked the newest member of the family. As Meghan got used to being a working royal, it quickly became clear that she and Kate Middleton, Prince William’s wife, didn’t click.
In Spare, Harry confirmed the rumored tensions between the now-Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex. He detailed the ladies’ disagreements over bridesmaid dresses and, eventually, how the Waleses and the Sussexes ceased to use the same comms personnel within the palace.
Even the two women’s upbringings were at odds, as Harry exposed a particular “awkward moment” in which Kate “grimaced” at his wife for the way she applied some borrowed lip gloss backstage at an event.
Queen Camilla gushed about Meghan Markle when she and Prince Harry got engaged (Image: Getty)
Harry wrote, “All this came on the heels of an awkward moment backstage. Meg asked to borrow Kate’s lip gloss. An American thing. Meg forgot hers, worried she needed some, and turned to Kate for help.
“Kate, taken aback, went into her handbag and reluctantly pulled out a small tube. Meg squeezed some onto her finger and applied it to her lips.”
Harry continued, “Kate grimaced. Small clash of styles, maybe? Something we should’ve been able to laugh about soon after. But it left a little mark.
“And then the press sensed something was up and tried to turn it into something bigger. Here we go, I thought sorrowfully.”
The Waleses and the Sussexes had a tight relationship in the beginning. They were so tight, in fact, that they were even branded the “Fab Four” once they began attending joint engagements.
After Harry and Meghan’s engagement news in 2017, both Prince William and Kate expressed their happiness for the couple.
In a joint statement with her husband, Kate said, “We are very excited for Harry and Meghan. It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together.”
Kate later told reporters, “William and I are absolutely thrilled. It’s such exciting news. It’s a really happy time for any couple and we wish them all the best and hope they enjoy this happy moment.”
Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle didn’t initially click (Image: Getty)
In 2018, after news broke of Meghan’s first pregnancy with Prince Archie, Kate once again expressed her joy.
“It’s such a special time to have little kiddies. And a cousin for George and Charlotte, as well, and Louis. It’ll be really special,” she told the press.
However, it was later revealed that, intermingled among the happy moments between the pair, there was also tension.
Days before Harry and Meghan’s May 2018 wedding, an argument broke out regarding alterations to Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress.
Initially, it was leaked to the press that Meghan had reduced Kate to tears. However, in her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan claimed the “reverse happened.”
Tensions escalated in June 2018 at Kensington Palace. Kate was reportedly offended when Meghan remarked that Kate might have “baby brain” due to hormones following the recent birth of Prince Louis.
Kate allegedly told Meghan they were not close enough to discuss her hormones. Meanwhile, Meghan was reportedly confused by Kate’s reaction.
Ultimately, reports indicate that Kate and Meghan never developed a close bond before the Sussexes left their roles as senior royals and moved to the U.S. in 2020.
Since then, the couple has frequently aired family tensions in various interviews, while Harry continued to make bombshell claims about nearly every member of the Royal Family in Spare.
