Meghan Markle entered royal life as an "independent woman" who "thought she knew it all," according to former Buckingham Palace press secretary Dickie Arbiter, who claimed the Duchess of Sussex proved difficult for one of Queen Elizabeth II's most experienced former aides to advise.
Arbiter, speaking on the Daily Expresso podcast with JJ Anisiobi, focused his criticism on Meghan's working relationship with Samantha Cohen, who spent years serving Queen Elizabeth before becoming private secretary to Prince Harry and Meghan in 2018. His comments offer a sharply critical interpretation of Meghan's early period inside the monarchy but don't establish what occurred in private discussions between the duchess and Palace staff.
"Sam Cohen never struggled. But with Meghan, she did struggle because she was a woman - independent woman - who thought she knew it all," Arbiter said.
Cohen had considerable experience navigating the Royal Household before being assigned to Harry and Meghan. She had served as assistant private secretary to Queen Elizabeth and was among the established Palace officials tasked with helping Meghan adjust to the protocols and demands that accompanied becoming a working member of the Royal Family.
Arbiter suggested that problems were apparent relatively early and that Meghan would have received advice about how to operate within the institution. He again described her as an "independent woman who thought she knew it all," portraying her personality and approach as difficult to reconcile with the guidance being offered.
His characterization remains an opinion rather than an established account of Cohen's relationship with Meghan. Arbiter didn't identify particular instructions that Meghan rejected, provide documents showing disputes between the two women or offer direct evidence demonstrating that Meghan's attitude caused Cohen eventually to leave the Royal Household.
Arbiter also made broader judgments about Meghan, a former actress whose television career included a leading role on "Suits." "Once an actress, always an actress," he said, without identifying specific conduct that he believed demonstrated the characterization.
He separately offered his interpretation of Harry's circumstances before the couple met, describing the prince as lonely and saying he wanted a wife. Those remarks similarly reflect Arbiter's personal assessment rather than independently established facts about Harry's motivations or the development of the couple's relationship.
Meghan has previously described her introduction to royal life in markedly different terms. During her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, she said she entered the institution without understanding the extent of what would be expected of her.
"I went into it naively because I didn't grow up knowing much about the Royal Family. I didn't fully understand what the job was," Meghan said.
That description contrasts with Arbiter's contention that she behaved as though she already knew how to handle royal life. Neither account, on its own, establishes what advice Palace officials gave Meghan, how she responded to particular recommendations or why individual relationships between the Sussexes and their staff deteriorated.
Cohen's role during the period is well documented. After working closely with Queen Elizabeth, she became private secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018, placing her at the center of the administrative operation surrounding the newly married couple during Meghan's first year as a working royal.
Cohen left the Royal Household in 2019. Her departure has subsequently become part of a wider debate about staff turnover around Harry and Meghan, although the circumstances of individual departures and accounts of working conditions have been disputed.
The Sussexes have described their period as working royals through a different lens. In interviews, their Netflix documentary and Harry's memoir, "Spare," they have emphasized intense media scrutiny, disagreements with the institution and what they viewed as inadequate protection from hostile coverage.
Harry and Meghan ultimately stepped back from working royal duties in 2020 and moved to North America. The couple subsequently established a life in California built around charitable initiatives, media projects and other commercial ventures.
Their relationship with the institution has returned to attention following their move back to Britain with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Despite the relocation, formal guidance issued on behalf of King Charles III on Sept. 7 stated that their constitutional and working position hasn't changed.
The guidance reiterated that Harry and Meghan "are no longer working Members of The Royal Family" and said that status would "continue to be fully respected." Their His and Her Royal Highness styles remain in abeyance, while their charitable and commercial activities are conducted independently of the Royal Household.
The document described their position as "akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests," meaning their return to Britain doesn't authorize them to represent King Charles or resume the official engagements they performed before 2020.
