ROYALSPrince Harry Was 'Disappointed' His Family Didn’t Think Meghan Markle and Princess Diana Were Similar
Meghan Markle is often compared to Princess Diana.
Prince Harry often compares Meghan Markle to his late mother, Princess Diana, but the Spencer brood struggled to compare the two royals.
According to biographer Tom Bower, Harry hoped the Spencers would embrace the actress and see her as a Diana 2.0.
Princess Diana tragically passed in 1997.
"Since the Vanity Fair article had increased the Cambridges’ suspicion of Meghan, the actress discovered that her neighbor in Kensington Palace had even less time for her," Bower wrote in Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, referring to the publication's 2017 cover story highlighting the Duchess of Sussex's romance with the Duke of Sussex.
After becoming a member of the royal fold, Meghan became significantly more popular.
Prince Harry gifted Meghan Markle pieces from Princess Diana's jewelry collection.
Bower later claimed that the Spencers knew the Suits star wouldn't do well in the royal family.
"By then, Harry had introduced Meghan to Diana’s two sisters, Jane and Sarah, and her best friend Julia Samuel. Harry assumed that Diana’s family and friends would see a similarity between Diana and his fiancée," Bower continued.
"Both, he said, shared the same problems. He was disappointed. No one agreed that his vulnerable mother had anything in common with his girlfriend," he shared. "More discomforting for him, they thought Meghan would not fit in with the royal family."
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry left the royal fold in 2020.
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The Sussexes' courtship moved faster than Prince William and Kate Middleton's — who dated for a decade before saying "I do."
"Their unease was voiced by Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother," Bower shared. "At William’s request, Spencer weighed in. Three times married, Spencer cautioned his nephew to reconsider his haste towards marriage. His advice provoked a bitter reaction. 'This was going to be really hard,’ Harry would later reflect on establishing Meghan’s place in the family."
Meghan Markle retired from acting to pursue being a working duchess.
Due to Meghan's success in the television industry, there were rumblings about the royal salary not being enough for the Hollywood star.
"One of his recurring concerns was insufficient money if they married. Although Harry annually received about £1.5 million from Charles, Meghan had been advised to continue acting to supplement their income," Bower noted.
"By that point, Meghan knew from her agent Nick Collins that her acting prospects were limited. Omid Scobie, her official biographer, would accurately summarize her exit from Hollywood," Bower penned. "'She wanted a more meaningful career,’ he wrote. 'She could be doing so much more with her platform.’ Her frustration remained. She was tantalizingly close to sealing her future, but nothing was official."
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In Harry & Meghan, the veteran highlighted the late princess and Meghan's shared characteristics.
“So much of what Meghan is, and how she is, is so similar to my mum,” Harry said. “She has the same compassion, the same empathy, she has the same confidence, she has this warmth about her."
