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Daily Record
Daily Record
Entertainment
Magdalene Dalziel

Queen Mother's 'well-worn mantra' meant Meghan Markle 'struggled with royal life'

Many royal fans would give anything to be a fly on the wall for some of the private chats between the family - and not least when the drama was unfolding surrounding Harry and Meghan Markle's exit from The Firm.

When the former Suits actress met her future husband in 2018, no one in the UK or across the world could have predicted it would end in quite the dramatic fashion that it did.

There have been a number of well publicised factors which led to the collapse of the relationship between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the rest of the royals, and most of them are contained in Harry's tell-all memoir Spare.

But one of these things could have led to relations turning sour between the couple and Harry's family and ultimately prompted their move to the US, as reports the Mirror.

Some believe the late Queen Mother's "well-worn mantra" might have been the source of some of their problems, as Meghan has previously explained that she didn't find it easy to keep quiet at specific times, and she struggled with the fact she couldn't express herself.

Meghan, who ran lifestyle blog The Tig before she met Harry and subsequently shut it down, would have been used to defending herself to any claims aimed at her, or made political statements, either directly on her social media or on The Tig.

But when she signed up to become a member of the Royal Family, she was signing up for a lot more - or the chance to say a lot less.

Members of the Royal Family traditionally never speak out - and this stance was largely down to the Queen Mother.

Speaking back in 2019, royal expert Victoria Arbiter claimed the Queen Mother's "well-worn mantra" could have caused Meghan a few problems.

Speaking to Nine News Australia, she said: "I think really she [Meghan] is doing incredibly well. It's very difficult when you come from a celebrity background where a publicist can stand up for you or come out and say 'no, that report is categorically untrue.'

"But, generally speaking, members of the public follow the Queen Mother's well-worn mantra: 'Never complain, never explain.' And so you have to sit back while the world's media and social media just comment."

The Queen Mother, Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, was a prominent figure in the Royal Family before her death in March 2002 and was very close to her daughter, The Queen, and her grandson William, but it's been said she wasn't as friendly to his younger brother.

"The Queen Mother always made sure Prince William was seated in a prominent seat next to her and Harry never was," explained journalist Richard Kay in Channel 5 documentary Prince Harry: The Troubled Prince.

After her death, it was reported the Queen Mother tried to leave Harry a larger share of her will as she knew William would be better off financially, being King.

But according to a Forbes report published in February 2020, Harry didn't actually get any inheritance from his great-grandmother.

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