Meghan Markle's tenure as a working member of the British royal family was marked by a significant "culture clash" with palace aides, according to veteran royal correspondent Simon Vigar, author of the new book "The Four Wives of Windsor."
Vigar, who covered the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during their time as working royals, contends that the difficulties the couple experienced were avoidable and exacerbated by egos on both sides. "I think she thought that there would be more control over events, public events, than there was," Vigar told Fox News Digital. He disputes the narrative that the British media was uniformly against the couple, stating, "That is not how I remember it, and many of my colleagues remember it."
He recalled Meghan's early engagements, including her first in Nottingham and a 2018 royal tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tonga, as initial indicators of underlying tensions. "The crowds were massive," Vigar said of the tour. "But ... the palace press officers were trying to spin three different stories after that. One person was in tears from the Kensington Palace team because of how it had all gone pear-shaped, as we say in the U.K."
Vigar's book suggests that Meghan, a former American actress accustomed to the more controlled environment of Hollywood, found the realities of royal public service different from her expectations. "Those levels of Hollywood control-freakery, as courtiers say, are incompatible with the public service role of the monarchy," he wrote. An anonymous senior staffer is quoted in the book as saying, "My overall sense is Meghan realized it was hard work and not that glamorous. It's not about you."
A notable incident during the 2018 tour in Fiji, where a planned visit to Suva Market was cut short, highlighted these differences. While Team Sussex cited security concerns, Vigar, who was present, questioned this explanation, suggesting other factors like potential illness or a shift in mood after a brief interaction. He noted that the shortened visit meant women who had waited to meet her did not get the chance, calling it an "early sign in retrospect" of a "mismatch in expectations."
According to Vigar, working royals are expected to fulfill their public duties even when not feeling well. "Even if they are feeling grotty, they turn up and they do the job," he stated.
Vigar also addressed allegations of bullying leveled against Meghan by former aides. He stated that he and his colleagues did not observe the Kensington Palace press team briefing against Meghan from the outset, suggesting the opposite was true: "People were working very hard to support her." He concluded that by the end of 2019, both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wanted to step away from their royal roles.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior working royals in 2020 and subsequently relocated to California. They have since been vocal critics of the British tabloid press and have stated they did not receive adequate support from the royal institution.
Kensington Palace and a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex declined to comment on Vigar's book.