Meghan Markle 'thought royals behaved like babies' palace insider claims

It's no secret that Meghan Markle struggled to adjust to life in the royal family. In January 2020, less than two years after their much-celebrated wedding, the Sussexes abruptly stepped down as working royals, and relocated to California. According to insiders, Meghan found it hard to get her head around the many protocols and traditions associated with The Firm - and she had a scathing assessment of the senior members. In his new book, Yes Ma'am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants - which has been excerpted in The Times - author Tom Quinn reveals what Meghan allegedly made of her new situation.

He writes: "Meghan really disliked the hierarchy,' a member of her former team said. 'Many of the rules do seem pretty pointless and exist only so that the relative status of each senior royal is protected. And the senior royals are such a sensitive bunch — if one gets a gold pen or a new car, they all want one. Meghan thought they behaved like babies.'". Meghan and Harry discussed her introduction to royal life in their six-part Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, and recalled Meghan's first meeting with the Queen after they began dating in 2016.

"My grandmother was the first senior member of the family that Meghan met," Prince Harry said in the docuseries. "She had no idea what it all consisted of. So it was a bit of a shock to the system for her.". Meghan then shared that while they were on their way to meet the Queen, Prince Harry asked her if she knew how to curtsy. "We were in the car, driving and he's like: 'You know how to curtsy right?' and I just thought it was a joke," the duchess admitted.

Prince Harry acknowledged the difficulty of explaining royal protocol to his American girlfriend, saying: "How do you explain that to people? How do you explain that you bow to your grandmother? And that you would need to curtsy, especially to an American. That's weird.". Meghan also compared curtsying to Medieval Times, Dinner and Tournament, a dinner theatre featuring medieval-style games, and joked that "Americans will understand this".

She then recreated the deep curtsy she gave to the Queen, bowing her head dramatically and spreading her arms wide. "It was like that. Like, I curtsied as though I was like…Pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty," she said. However, her reenactment drew some criticism from viewers who claimed that the duchess was being “disrespectful” towards tradition. Get our daily royal round-up direct to your inbox.