Meghan Markle Was Surprised to Learn Royal Life Is 'Extremely Boring'
Meghan Markle wasn't prepared for the realities of being a working duchess, and Queen Elizabeth's close friend revealed just how confused the Suits star was upon entering The Firm.
Her Majesty's childhood pal Lady Glenconner discussed the Duchess of Sussex on the "Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth" podcast.
"I think the thing about Meghan was, she had no idea what was really expected of her really," the socialite admitted. "I think [Meghan] just thought it was sort of like being another actress, you know. Riding around in a golden coach and everything like that."
"And actually, being a member of the royal family — a lot of it is extremely boring," the peeress added.
In Meghan and Prince Harry's tell-all series, Harry & Meghan, the actress admitted to her awkward run-in with Prince William and Kate Middleton.
"It's so funny if I look back at it now because now I know so much, and I'm so glad I didn't then," Meghan said in the second episode of the program. "Because I could just authentically be myself without so much preparedness."
Meghan alluded to the Prince and Princess of Wales being rigid.
"Even when Will and Kate came over and I had met her for the first time, they came over for the first time, I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot," the mom-of-two recalled. "I was a hugger, always been a hugger."
"I didn't realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits," she continued. "I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside."
"That there is a forward-facing way of being. And then you close the door and you're like, 'Oh, great. OK, we can relax now.' But that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me," the brunette beauty concluded.
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Harry later informed viewers that Meghan was unaware of royal protocol.
"My grandmother was the first senior member of the family that Meghan met. She had no idea what it all consisted of. So it was a bit of a shock to the system for her," Harry explained.
"I mean, it's surreal. There wasn't, like, some big moment of, 'Now you're gonna meet my grandmother.' I didn't know I was gonna meet her until moments before," Meghan added while sitting beside her spouse. "We were in the car and we were going to Royal Lodge for lunch, and he was like, 'Oh, my grandmother is here! She's gonna be there after church.'"
"We were in the car, driving and he's like, 'You know how to curtsy, right?' And I just thought it was a joke," she said before mimicking the gesture.
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OK! previously reported that royal expert Phil Dampier believes Meghan was disappointed by her ranking within The Firm.
"She probably thought she should have got equal billing and didn’t seem to appreciate from the start that she and Harry were the B team, not on the same level as William and Kate," Dampier shared. "She will probably talk about comparisons that were made in the press between them and will come across as bitter."