Michelle advises Meghan to pump the breaks. Photo / Getty Images
Michelle advises Meghan to pump the breaks. Photo / Getty Images
Meghan Markle has been given some words of advice from the former First Lady of the United States as she deals with claims of a royal feud and a series of leaks that have led to damaging headlines.
Mrs Obama, who has just released her memoir Becoming, said she thought Meghan, 37, was doing things too quickly and urged her to slow down.
"Like me, Meghan probably never dreamt that she'd have a life like this, and the pressure you feel – from yourself and from others – can sometimes feel like a lot," she told Good Housekeeping magazine.
Meghan's life has been a whirlwind since meeting Prince Harry. Photo / Getty Images
To combat that, the Duchess of Sussex should not be afraid to play a longer game.
"So my biggest pieces of advice would be to take some time and don't be in a hurry to do anything. I spent the first few months in the White House mainly worrying about my daughters, making sure they were off to a good start at school and making new friends, before I launched into any more ambitious work."
Meghan has a privileged role as a senior royal where she could have a major impact on issues that are close to her.
"There's so much opportunity to do good with a platform like that – and I think Meghan can maximise her impact for others, as well as her own happiness, if she's doing something that resonates with her personally," she told the magazine.
Mrs Obama is currently in the United Kingdom promoting her book where an appearance in London's South Bank Centre tonight has been sold out for weeks. She is cutting short her European tour however to return to the US for the funeral of former President George H W Bush.
She and her husband, former US President Barack Obama, have had a close relationship with Meghan's husband Prince Harry for several years.
Former US President Barack Obama and Prince Harry have a close friendship. Photo / Getty Images
Rumours of a rift between Meghan and sister-in-law Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, increased after royal sources revealed emotional Kate, 36, ended up crying over her demands for Princess Charlotte's bridesmaid dress.
Royal aides did not deny the incident had taken place, amid claims that the duchesses are "very different people".
Sources claim the Duchess of Cambridge told Meghan off for the way she spoke to members of her team at Kensington Palace.
As Harry and Meghan make plans to move out of Kensington Palace the spotlight has fallen on an alleged rift between the duchesses. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry, 34, has reportedly also been throwing his weight around, angered that neither his brother, Prince William, or aides have been "rolling out the red carpet" for his bride.
The tension between him and William was said to be so bad their father Prince Charles had to intervene at one stage to organise an invitation to William and Kate's country home near Sandringham, Anmer Hall, in an effort to help the couples bond.
However, his plans fell apart, with a source reportedly telling the Daily Mail that there was a "ghastly row" between the Sussexes and Cambridges.
Mrs Obama's advice comes as Meghan's estranged father Thomas Markle was said to be appalled at the negativity now surrounding her.
A friend of Mr Markle, 74, who has not spoken to her since her May wedding to Prince Harry, said he told him: "How could they be so cruel and heartless?
"It hurts me deeply that one of the sweetest young women anyone could hope to meet is being trashed and bashed at every turn by a British establishment hellbent on belittling her.
