Meghan Markle's attempts to chart an independent path within the British royal family reportedly caused panic at Buckingham Palace, with aides concerned the Duchess of Sussex planned to "outshine" Queen Elizabeth II, according to new accounts by royal biographers Tom Quinn and Valentine Low.
"Buckingham Palace became really worried when they became aware that Meghan had plans for her life as a working royal that were not going to be part of a general strategy agreed with the staff - she just wanted to do her own thing," Quinn wrote in his book Yes Ma'am. "Which is fair enough if you're not a member of a tightly controlled institution, but it was never going to be acceptable that Meghan should outshine Princess Anne, Prince Charles (as he then was) and Elizabeth the Queen."
A former courtier quoted by Quinn described the late monarch's expectations as rigid: "Elizabeth always had to be the center and focus of everything the Royal Family did, and I don't think Meghan understood why they had to make her do things she didn't want to do. She didn't understand that when you join the Royal Family, you don't do as you please, you do as you're told. In a sense, you become a servant of the family."
Quinn also quoted a former staffer who said Meghan was critical of the palace hierarchy. "Meghan really disliked the hierarchy," the aide recalled. "Many of the rules do seem pretty pointless and exist only so that the relative status of each senior royal is protected. And the senior royals are such a sensitive bunch - if one gets a gold pen or a new car, they all want one. Meghan thought they behaved like babies."
Valentine Low, in his book Courtiers, described how Meghan's ambitions to "earn money for herself" played a central role in the couple's decision to step away from royal duties. During negotiations over a potential compromise that would allow the Sussexes to mix royal responsibilities with personal business ventures, royal aides insisted that any arrangement must adhere to the "normal rules" of royal behavior-specifically prohibiting decisions taken for financial gain.
"Some suspected that in the end she wanted to make money," Low wrote. "And the only way she was going to do that was by leaving her royal life behind and going back to America."
Prince Harry acknowledged the cultural divide in the couple's Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, recalling Meghan's first meeting with his grandmother. "She had no idea what it all consisted of," he said. Meghan added, "We were in the car, driving, and he's like, 'You know how to curtsy right?' And I just thought it was a joke."
The Duchess likened the experience to a themed dinner show. "It was like that. Like, I curtsied as though I was like... pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty," she said, performing an exaggerated bow in the documentary-a moment that drew criticism from viewers who considered it mocking.
Princess Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, claimed Queen Elizabeth had hoped to avoid conflict with her grandson. "She wanted Harry to stay as close to her as possible," Burrell said. "But that couldn't be because the American in the equation wanted a different solution. Meghan wanted change."
