A key contributor to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's decision to step back from royal duties was a refusal to "learn the ropes" of the role, according to an author.
The Royal Family had reportedly grown frustrated with the Duchess of Sussex's approach to the tasks at hand.
Writing in his book, 'Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors', Tom Bower states that the 41-year-old was "determined to hit the ground running" despite a precedent set by other royal figures which consisted of treating their duties with caution.
Meghan Markle visits the Mayhew charity in 2019.
Eddie Mulholland/Daily Telegraph
Bower explained: "Kate had become irritated by her neighbour. Unlike her own cautious approach to 'learn the ropes' before engaging in royal duties, Meghan was running — but what was her destination?
"And who was she running with? Did she realize that the Royal Family ran together under the monarch, not as competitive individuals?"
A contrasting approach was exhibited by the Countess of Wessex and held her in good stead, according to royal commentator Andrew Morton.
He told the Mirror: "I realised after watching the Catherine for all these years that it takes a long, long time to really understand what it is like to be royal.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stepped back from frontline royal duties in 2020.
Ben Birchall
"Catherine Middleton has spent ten, twelve years coming to terms with it. So did Sophie Rhys-Jones (Royal Family) and she's got a much lower profile - or did. It just takes a long time to absorb yourself into it.
"Meghan was quite a shy person, so making speeches and being in public was something of an ordeal but I think she's overcome that. She reminds me so much of Diana. She struggled for a few years to come to terms with what it is like to be a princess."
Meghan recently reflected on her time on Deal or No Deal, where she was "forced to be all looks and little substance".
She says there was a “very cookie cutter idea” of what the briefcase girls should look like and that it was “solely about beauty and not necessarily about brains”.
Meghan said she shared the stage with 25 other women and they were given spray tan vouchers each week.
She recalls a woman, who she says ran the show, telling her to “suck it in”.
Speaking at the start of the latest episode of Archetypes, Meghan said: “I ended up quitting the show. Like I said, I was thankful for the job but not for how it made me feel, which was not smart.
“And by the way, I was surrounded by smart women on that stage with me. But that wasn’t the focus of why we were there.
“And I would end up leaving with this pit in my stomach, knowing that I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage.
“I didn’t like feeling forced to be all looks and little substance. And that’s how it felt for me at the time, being reduced to this specific archetype.”
