Meghan Markle 'Hated Being A Second Rate Princess' & Was 'Hugely Disappointed' By The Royal Family, Palace Staffer Alleges

Meghan Markle "hated being a second-rate princess" before she and Prince Harry separated themselves from the royal family.

In author Tom Quinn’s newest book, Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family, a Kensington Palace staffer spilled about Meghan’s time at the residence, claiming they "remembered Meghan well."

The insider told the writer that Meghan was "a very nice, smiley, super-positive person." The staffer added that the Duchess "always felt in control of her own destiny" — up until she joined the royal family. However, "she couldn’t influence" the institution she suddenly was a part of.

"She was dazzled by the worldwide fame that being a princess would bring, but she was shocked by the palace protocol and by the fact that she was not and never could be first in the pecking order," the source continued.

The insider also touched on Meghan's rivalry with Kate Middleton, saying, "She hated being a second-rate princess – second to Catherine Middleton, I mean. She thought she would be living in Windsor Castle, for example, and just couldn’t believe it when she and Harry were given Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace."

The staff member then mentioned how the Suits actress never wanted to obey the rules she was expected to follow.

"She hated the fact that she had to do what she was told and go where she was told in the endless, and to a large extent pointless royal round," they said.

"I don’t think in the whole of history there was ever a greater divide between what someone expected when they became a member of the royal family and what they discovered it was really like. She was hugely disappointed. She was a global superstar but was being told what she could and could not do, what she could and could not say. She hated it,” the source explained about the former actress.

The insider then dished that the American performer "quickly realized that she was treated by the royal establishment and the aristocratic advisers in a slightly condescending way because she was not a blood royal."

In his book, Quinn compares the 41-year-old to Harry’s mother, Princess Diana.

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"It’s very easy to see why Meghan would identify with Diana because, in a sense, Diana was also a rebel within the royal family. Their views of the royal family coincide. They’re very similar. Diana hated all that stuffiness,” the author shared.

“I think when Meghan thinks of Diana, she sees a kindred spirit," he added, also saying the way the press attacked the Duchess of Sussex was "very much like Diana."

Fox News previously reported on the insider and Quinn’s statements.