Queen Elizabeth Was Wary of 'Opportunist' Meghan Markle Early On, New Book Claims

Queen Elizabeth II began harbouring private doubts about Meghan Markle well before the Duchess of Sussex's 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, viewing her as an 'opportunist' with formidable PR instincts, according to a new book on the late monarch's relationships with US presidents.

Susan Page's forthcoming title The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History is primarily billed as a study of Queen Elizabeth's dealings with American leaders from Harry Truman to Joe Biden. Yet among its more eye-catching passages are fresh claims about how the Queen assessed Meghan Markle as she entered the royal fold, and how those views allegedly hardened over time as Harry and Meghan's relationship with the Palace deteriorated.

In an extract reported by Fox News, Page cites an unnamed aide who claims the Queen was 'on to' Meghan 'from the start.' The monarch is said to have regarded the former Suits actress as highly strategic about her image and adept at media management, to an extent that exposed the weaknesses of Buckingham Palace's own communications set-up.

'Her Majesty had become wary of Meghan as an opportunist, was 'on to her from the start,' the aide said, and one with public relations skills that left the palace's outdated press operation in the dust,' Page writes, according to the outlet.

The assertion fits a now-familiar narrative among some royal commentators, though it remains just that; an assertion. Buckingham Palace has not commented on the reported remarks and Meghan and Harry, who now live in California, have consistently argued that their actions were driven by a desire for protection and autonomy rather than personal ambition. Queen Elizabeth Was Wary of 'Opportunist' Meghan Markle Early On, New Book Claims

Queen Elizabeth, Meghan Markle And A Changing Royal Dynamic

The news came after a series of books and interviews over the past four years have tried to piece together what really happened between Queen Elizabeth, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in the final phase of the Queen's reign.

Hugo Vickers, a long-time royal writer, suggests in his book Queen Elizabeth II: The Remarkable Life of Our Nation's Most Beloved Monarch that the relationship between the monarch and her grandson shifted markedly after Harry and Meghan stepped back as working royals in 2020. According to Vickers, 'the dynamics between the late Queen and Harry changed significantly,' particularly after the couple's televised interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which they accused the institution of failing to support them.

That broadcast, which aired in 2021, sent shockwaves through the monarchy. While the Queen's official response at the time was measured; issues raised, she said, would be addressed 'privately' Vickers' account implies a more personal sense of distance from Harry behind the scenes once grievances became public.

It is striking, though not especially surprising, that so many of these retrospective portraits of the Queen lean on anonymous aides and court insiders. The monarch herself never spoke on the record about Meghan, and those closest to her have largely maintained discretion. What we are left with is a patchwork of recollections and interpretations, some reverential, some hostile, all competing to define her legacy in the Sussex chapter.

New Books Revive Claims About Meghan's Ambition

British journalist Tom Bower, who has built a career writing combative biographies, devotes his latest book, Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family, to dissecting the rupture between the Sussexes and the rest of the Firm. Promoting the book on the 'Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered' podcast in late March, Bower relayed what he said was the view of an unnamed 'establishment figure' who briefed the Queen during Meghan's early days in the family.

'This establishment figure reported to the Queen that Megan thinks that once she marries into the royal family, she's going to be God. Which is pretty hilarious, but clearly, she believed it,' Bower claimed.

He went further, alleging, again based on unidentified sources, that Meghan believed she, rather than the then Duchess of Cambridge, should ultimately be Queen consort after Charles.

'Clearly, she thought... I've come to the conclusion, with the help of others on the inside, that she really thought she, rather than Kate [Middleton], should be the next queen after Charles,' Bower said. 'She couldn't understand why she was better looking, and in her view, more intelligent, harder working, and everything, should be the queen. And she hated the idea that she and Harry were relegated so far down the order.'

In Bower's telling, Meghan 'got everything she wanted and then knew what she wanted and couldn't get, and that was a lot. That's why, of course, she never intended to stay.'

None of those explosive characterisations has been corroborated by documentary evidence or on-the-record testimony, and they rely heavily on anonymous briefings. Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not respond in the source material to Bower's allegations, and there is no public record of Meghan expressing such ambitions.

Bower's book also drifts into the current royal inner circle, attributing to Queen Camilla the remark that 'Meghan's brainwashed Harry,' allegedly made to a friend. That line, too, remains unverified and has not been publicly addressed by Camilla's office.