Queen Camilla and Meghan Markle have many things in common, but as of today, friends aren’t one of them. The Duchess of Sussex was said to have received a wealth advice from Camilla when she entered the Royal Family, but their relationship slowly broke down as time went by.
These days the Queen Consort and Meghan haven’t met for many years, and only time will tell whether they will ever see each other again. Yet though they might not see eye-to-eye or face-to-face, Meghan has taken some inspiration from Queen Camilla.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently visited Colombia, where they appeared at several events and met locals. According to a body language expert, the former Suits star made a bold statement by copying Camilla…
Upon first entering the royal sphere, Meghan and the rest of Harry’s family seemed to be getting along swimmingly. That included not only her relationship with Queen Elizabeth II and Kate Middleton but also Camilla, who was another family member she grew very close to.
Meghan Markle & Queen Camilla
Of course, Meghan and Camilla had one major thing in common: both had married into the Royal Family. Reports suggested that because of this, they had an unspoken agreement to show respect to one another.
Camilla did her best to help Meghan adjust to royal life. Shortly before her wedding to Harry, Camilla invited Meghan to a private lunch and shared how she was treated by the press in the wake of Princess Diana’s death and how she coped with the pressure.
According to the Daily Mail, Camilla advised Meghan to focus on the positive sides of her role within the Royal Family and “ride out the storm if negative press would occur.”
Charles was said to have offered similar advice to Harry.
However, Meghan appeared to feel differently. In an ITV documentary, she claimed people didn’t care about her well-being, saying: “Not many people have asked if I’m OK.”
“Meg was really grateful to Camilla, who was very supportive and invited her out for private lunches, particularly around the time of her marriage,” a friend of Meghan told the Daily Mail. “She listened to her and understood that it’s really difficult joining the Royal Family from an otherwise ‘normal’ life.”
“Meghan didn’t listen”
The friend added: “Much like Meghan, Camilla had experienced a lot of negative press and hostility from courtiers due to her relationship with Charles when he was still married to Diana.
“She was very sensitive to Meghan and provided her with support, advising her to ride out the storm and that it would all pass – but ultimately Meghan didn’t listen.”
Meanwhile, a palace aid told the Mail that Camilla understood what it was like for one to come from a “normal life” before suddenly finding themselves in the world’s loftiest, most famous Royal Family on Earth.
“As a consequence, she tries very hard to make people welcome and help them find their feet, and has done so for many years,” the palace source said.
“Her consciously offering to mentor and guide is something that she really does try and do. That applies to many people, not just the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex.”
Meanwhile, in 2017, with a media storm surrounding Meghan Markle in full throttle, Harry spoke with his father, pressuring him to fight the British tabloid papers.
“Meg, meanwhile, reached out to Camilla, who tried to counsel her by saying this was just what the press always did to newcomers, that it would all pass in due time, that Camilla had been the bad guy once,” Harry wrote in Spare.
“The implication being what? Now it was Meg’s turn? As if it were apples to apples.”
Queen Camilla suggested that Prince Harry & Meghan Markle should leave the UK
Meghan appeared to have a good relationship with Camilla at the time, but whether or not the feeling was mutual is another matter. According to Harry, his stepmother suggested that he should be announced as the governor of a faraway place, which didn’t evoke a positive reaction.
“Camilla also suggested to Meg that I become Governor General of Bermuda, which would solve all our problems by removing us from the red-hot center of the maelstrom,” Harry wrote in his memoir.
“Right, right, I thought, and one added bonus of that plan would be to get us out of the picture.”
It’s still unknown why Camilla would suggest such a thing. As of today, we know that the Sussexes and the royals had quite different opinions about what royal life should be like and what was acceptable.
One thing that is clear, though, is that Harry seeking governorship in another part of the Commonwealth wouldn’t have been the first time a prince came close to being “moved” to another part of the world.
According to Newsweek, in the 1970s, Queen Elizabeth II was rumored to have discussed her son, then Prince Charles, becoming the governor-general of Australia. However, as he wasn’t married then, she scrapped the idea.
Meghan ‘stole’ Queen Camilla’s spotlight
As mentioned, Queen Camilla had a unique position when it came to understanding and empathizing with Meghan Markle, not only due to their both having been outsiders who married into the Royal Family, but also because of the negative press they had to live with.
She helped advise Meghan as Charles helped Harry. But in the end, Meghan did something that left Camilla very upset.
In 2020, Camilla was scheduled to attend the 10th Anniversary of the Women of the World festival. There, she was to deliver a speech, and it was reported that Meghan promised not to steal too much attention.
The Mirror reported that Camilla and her team had planned the event for over a year. But once there, Meghan duly stole the spotlight, which upset Camilla.
