Queen’s Pal Claims Meghan Markle Had ‘No Idea What Was Expected’ of Royals

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Duchess of Sussex (Meghan Markle) open the Mersey Gateway Bridge, at the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in Widnes Cheshire on June 14th 2018 ahead of other various engagements in the area. Mega Agency

Queen Elizabeth’s close childhood friend spoke her mind when revealing her thoughts on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Lady Anne Glenconner claimed that when Meghan, 42, joined the royal family, the Suits alum “had no idea what was expected of her, really,” she shared on a recent episode of the “Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth” podcast. In fact, Anne, 91 — who said she “used to know Harry as a little boy” — surmised that the actress felt like she was going to be “riding around in a golden coach” and feted with adoration.

“I think she just thought it was sort of like being another actress, you know,” she said. In reality, however, royal life can be “extremely boring,” Anne noted. (Meghan, for her part, also faced intense scrutiny when announcing her relationship with Harry, 39, in 2017, as she was met with racism in the U.K. press and allegedly from some members of The Firm itself.)

Anne, who was a lady-in-waiting for Princess Margaret and one of Elizabeth’s maids of honor at her coronation, further explained that the majority of the time, royals are constantly “meeting hundreds of thousands of people that you’re never going to meet again, always trying to say something and just be nice.”

As for the Sussexes’ decision to step down from their roles as senior royals in 2020, Anne stated: “I think it was very sad and I feel very sad for Harry.”

In fact, when meeting with Sen. John Kerry at King Charles III’s coronation in May, Anne asked the politician, 79, what the consensus is on the Sussexes in the U.S.

“We all feel very, very sorry for Harry,” Kerry responded, according to Anne.

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As for Harry and Meghan’s relationship with the queen, who died in September 2022 at age 96, they remained close with the monarch until her death.

“The queen … has always been wonderful to me,” Meghan shared in the couple’s 2021 CBS sit-down. Harry, for his part, had shared a special bond with his grandmother throughout his life.

“It’s incredible … to be able to meet her through [Harry’s] lens, not just with his honor and respect for her as the monarch, but the love that he has for her as his grandmother,” Meghan, who wed Harry in 2018, shared in their joint engagement interview in 2017. “All of those layers have been so important for me so that when I met her I had such a deep understanding and of course incredible respect for being able to have that time with her. And we’ve had a really — she’s an incredible woman.”

The queen, for her part, issued a statement in support of the duo after they revealed their decision to step down from royal life.

“Harry, Meghan and [their son] Archie will always be much-loved members of the family. I recognize the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life,” Queen Elizabeth said in 2020. “I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family. It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life.”

After moving to California, Harry and Meghan — who were already proud parents of son Archie, now 5 — welcomed daughter Lilibet, now 2, whom they named after the queen.