Meghan Markle wanted to grow up to be as big as Beyoncé abroad when she married Prince Harry, a new book claims.
“I think Meghan thought she was going to be the Beyoncé of the UK,” a former palace insider told royal author Valentine Low for “Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown” (via the Times of London).
“If you’re part of the royal family, she’d give her kudos,” the insider continued. “Whereas she found that there were so many rules that were so ridiculous that she couldn’t even do the things she could do as a private person, which is hard.”
After they tied the knot in May 2018, Harry and Markle announced their intention to “step back” from their duties as senior royals on January 8, 2020. Five days later, the prince’s relatives, including Queen Elizabeth II, gathered to discuss the unprecedented decision at what was dubbed the ‘Sandringham Summit’.
“It just required the decision makers to sit around a table and say, ‘Okay, what are we going to do about this? What do you need to feel better? And what can we give?’” a palace insider told Low.
The group discussed “five scenarios” where Harry and Markle could live their lives the way they wanted and how this would reflect on the royal family.
However, Low wrote that the Queen, who died earlier this month at the age of 96, “believed that unless the couple were willing to abide by the restrictions placed on working members of the royal family, they could not be allowed in.” for official duties.”
Following the summit, the monarch announced on January 13, 2020 that while she “preferred” Harry and Markle to “remain full-time working members of the royal family”, the couple would move forward with their plan to “start a new life.” .”
Their departure – commonly known as Megxit – became official in February 2021.
“Following conversations with [Harry]The Queen has confirmed in writing that by relinquishing the work of the Royal Family it will not be possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties associated with a life of public service,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement at the time.
Harry, 38, and Markle, 41, now live in Montecito, California, with their two children: son Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have recently reunited with the Royal Family – which includes Harry’s estranged brother Prince William and sister-in-law Kate Middleton – to attend the Queen’s funeral on September 19.