Royally 'Clueless': Meghan Markle Was 'Naive' About Royal Life Despite Prince Harry's Warning

During their 2016-2017 courtship, Meghan Markle told Prince Harry that she was clueless about the British monarchy and how it functions.

"I think I can safely say, as naive as it sounds now, having gone through this learning curve in the past year and a half, that I did not have any understanding of just what it would be like," the Suits star told interviewer Mishal Husain during her and Harry's engagement interview. "I think neither of us did."

"I tried to warn you as much as possible," Harry added. "But I think both of us were totally surprised by the reaction after the first five or six months, of what actually happened after then. So you can have as many conversations as you want and try and prepare as much as possible, but we were totally unprepared for what happened after that."

Meghan replied: "There's a misconception that because I have worked in the entertainment industry, that this is something I'd be familiar with, but even though I'd been on my show [Suits] for six years at that point and working before that, I'd never been part of tabloid culture; I've never been in pop culture to that degree."

Harry and Meghan first met and began dating in July 2016. Meghan continued to work on her TV show during their relationship before the duo decided to go forward with an engagement in late 2017, which, due to Harry's proximity to the throne, would make them senior working royals at marriage.

The actress continued to Husain: "I lived a relatively quiet life even though I focused so much on my job. So that was a really stark difference out of the gate," she said.

Numerous royal analysts have researched and commented on Meghan's notion of being naive about the British monarchy. There have even been former friends of the Duchess stepped forward to contradict Meghan's claims, which she further touched on in her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.

"She was always fascinated by the royal family," Meghan's childhood pal, Ninaki Priddy told an outlet. "She wants to be Diana 2.0."

Acclaimed royal author Andrew Morton wrote of Meghan: "During this philosophy course, Meghan and her classmates were faced with a real-life paradox: namely, how could a young mother, a glamorous humanitarian in the prime of her life, die in the cruel banality of a car accident?"

He added: "She and her friends watched the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in early September 1997, tears coursing down their cheeks at the poignant moment when the camera zoomed in on the royal coffin."

Meghan also told Winfrey that she never once looked up Prince Harry on Google.

Daily Mirror reported on Harry and Meghan's interview.