Meghan Markle joined the Royal Family in 2018 after marrying Prince Harry in a star-studded Windsor wedding, however her life as a royal was a lot shorter than many first anticipated.
Despite appearing at royal events and engagements, it appears life in the Firm – and the publicity that came with it – was not as Meghan, 43, expected it to be, with both herself and her husband Harry, 40, stepping back from royal duties less than two years later.
At the time, the couple said they wanted to become financially independent and enjoy more privacy, with the young family opting to move across the pond to America in 2020 in order to make that happen.
However, some royal experts believe that there were more reasons behind Meghan’s decision to step back from life as a royal, including the fact she couldn’t have what she wanted from life in the Royal fold.
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK! magazine: “I have always held the view that Meghan failed to understand that she would never be the top dog in the Royal Family… or even the deputy top dog.
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be in complete control and charge of your life. There’s nothing wrong with seeking the limelight. It’s just that the Royal Family was the wrong vehicle for her ambitions.”
Another royal expert shared a similar view previously, believing that Meghan was never intending to stay in the Royal Family for long.
Royal expert Phil Dampier once told The Sun after Prince Harry’s solo visit to the UK in September that he doesn’t think she ever felt any “affection” towards her husband’s home country.
He also said he believed she had always planned to leave. Mr Dampier told The Sun: “To be honest, I don’t think she ever intended to stay in the Royal Family.
“Unfortunately, I think she was prepared to have a wonderful wedding costing millions of pounds, but I don’t think her heart was ever really in it, and I think she always planned to leave, so the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and that’s what we’re seeing now.”
Since quitting life as a senior royal in 2020, Meghan and Harry have enjoyed living in their Montecito mansion with their two children Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three.
While they originally started life away from the Firm with joint work projects, including their Netflix Harry and Meghan docuseries, over the last few months the couple have moved into their own personal lines of work to establish their individual brand images.
Renae Smith, founder and director of PR firm Atticism, exclusively told Express.co.uk: “I think their decision to pursue individual brands could indeed work in their favour over the long term, although it’s bound to spark a fair amount of public speculation in the short term.
“From a PR perspective, this shift might allow each of them to create distinct brands that better reflect their different priorities and resonate more coherently with their individual audiences.”
