Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are thriving in California. However, things were reportedly very difficult for them during the first year of their marriage when they were in the palace, according to a royal scribe.
Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Unhappy In The Palace During First Year Of Marriage?
The Times correspondent Valentine Low spoke about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's relationship and marriage with the palace staffers and the royal family when he appeared on Good Morning Britain to promote his new book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown.
He told presenters Sussana Reid and Ed Balls that the royal couple was "unhappy" in the first year of their relationship, and the palace allegedly ignored their pleas for help.
Markle was reportedly given a choice to continue her acting career. However, the former actress decided to support her husband.
"In that meeting, it was said, 'Listen, you are coming into the Royal Family from a different place," Valentine wrote, per Express. "You are an actress, you are a grown-up woman, we can do things differently, let's talk about how you want to do this. You might want to carry on acting, you might want to work in the industry', and Meghan said, 'No I want to do the philanthropy, I want to support my husband.'"
Valentine mentioned Sir David Manning, who reportedly suggested that the couple could go and live in South Africa for a while. Those individuals were reportedly trying to help the Duke and Duchess of Sussex adjust to their royal lives.
"That didn't work out but these were two people who made a lot of effort to try and accommodate them but there is a way in which the courtiers are to blame," Valentine continued. "The people around them were doing their best, these were people who could believe in Meghan and Harry and wanted them to work."
Low added that "there were signs early on in the first sort of year or so of their marriage" that the royal couple were unhappy. However, "no one really did anything about that."
"No one picked it up, no one flagged it, no big conversations with the courtiers in the institution," Low wrote.
"I don't think it would have made any difference in the sense that they still would have left because of what Harry and Meghan wanted and what the Royal Family and the Queen felt they wanted to give. I don't think there was ever a meeting point but it could have been done so much more amicably."
Prince Harry Spoke About Feeling 'Unsupported' By Royal Family
In Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey last year, both spoke about the lack of support from the royal family. The Duchess of Sussex said she had contemplated suicide when she was pregnant with her son, Archie, because she felt isolated and lonely.
"I went to the institution, and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help, I said I'd never felt this way before … and I was told that I couldn't, that it wouldn't be good for the institution," Markle said.
Prince Harry echoed the same sentiment. According to him, the reason they decided to leave the royal family was a "lack of support and lack of understanding."
He added, "My biggest concern was history repeating itself."
Prince William's brother said he saw the circumstances that affected his mother, Princess Diana, happening to him and his wife, Markle. However, racism and social media also became an additional burden to them.
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