Royal experts say Meghan was naive to expect it would be easy to fit in to the royal family. Photo / Getty
Royal experts say Meghan was naive to expect it would be easy to fit in to the royal family. Photo / Getty
Meghan Markle was "naive" and "unrealistic" to think her royal position would come with "instant popularity", royal experts say.
Royal commentator Omid Scobie said the Duchess, 38, married into the royal family with unrealistic expectations of her role, according to the Daily Mail.
Speaking to another royal expert Victoria Arbiter on the Heirpod podcast, Omid said Meghan believed there'd be a "honeymoon period" after marrying into the royal family, which would cut her some slack.
"I think one of the biggest mistakes Meghan made, and I've heard this from sources close to her, is that she naively went in thinking this role came almost with an instant popularity.
"[She thought] you start in a good place and there is this, no matter what, there is a honeymoon period that comes with marrying into the royal family that allows you to falter at times, or figure something out, or whatever it is," he went on.
"I think that that was one of the key things, and I think that towards the end she felt she wasn't given that by the press or members of the royal family, by aides or courtiers within the households."
Omid pointed out that Meghan wasn't the only one unprepared for a few hiccups.
He explained that the royal family themselves also had unrealistic expectations about how easily Meghan would fit in to her new life.
Meghan admitted she was struggling with the media attention in an ITV documentary last year. Photo / AP
"I think everyone somehow had this level of expectation from her from the get-go that was perhaps somewhat unrealistic, and perhaps she herself had some unrealistic expectations from the role too."
Arbiter added that while the rest of the royal family has had a "honeymoon period", Meghan's was significantly shorter.
The commentary echoes Meghan's own observations in the ITV documentary Harry and Meghan: An African Journey, which aired in October last year.
In the documentary, Meghan said she and Harry were barely "surviving" the intense media attention, saying she'd had "no idea" of the pressures she would be dealing with as a royal family member.
She admitted she was naive not to understand the level of scrutiny she would be under.
"I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair and that's the part that's really hard to reconcile," she said.
Harry and Meghan are now setting out to make a new life for themselves and son Archie in Canada after stepping down from their royal roles.
It was announced on the weekend that Harry and Meghan will stop using their HRH titles, spend most of their time in Canada, and pay back the taxpayer money spent renovating Frogmore Cottage.
Harry recently announced that he was "taking a leap of faith" by stepping down, but said there "really was no other option".
