Royal Reality Check: Meghan Markle's 'Arrogant' Disney Princess Dreams Crumbled in the Harsh Reality of Crown's Lifetime of Duty

Meghan Markle reportedly could only see the "glitz and glamour" of British royalty before saying "I do" to Prince Harry in 2018.

The Duchess of Sussex, whose first title is "Princess Henry," allegedly had no idea about the daily opening of supermarkets, hours of correspondence review and meetings, visits to the sick and dying or comforting those at sites of trauma or disaster in U.K. communities.

This led royal scribe Mark Borkowski to tell The Sun's Matt Wilkinson, "If you look back there was so much positivity, they were called the fab four with Kate and William, but it stems from no matter what you think the duties are, there is a pecking order in the royal family."

He added, "They're not in line for that top job, Meghan saw it as more Disney Princess than dutiful royal. It isn't tiaras and ballrooms and celebrities and big state openings."

The author then highlighted the real work of senior British royals by sharing, "It's opening a civic center on a cold, wet Saturday afternoon in Kettering. It's a job, and I think that was the first thing that came apart."

During their 2016-2017 courtship, Meghan Markle told Prince Harry that she was clueless about the British monarchy and how it functions.

"I think I can safely say, as naive as it sounds now, having gone through this learning curve in the past year and a half, that I did not have any understanding of just what it would be like," the Suits star told interviewer Mishal Husain during her and Harry's engagement interview. "I think neither of us did."

Harry and Meghan left royal life and the U.K. in early 2020 in what became known as "Megxit." Later that year, and based fully in California, the Duke of Sussex told the Armchair Expert podcast, "My wife had the most amazing explanation [about royalty]. You don't need to be a princess, you can create a life that will be better than any princess.' It's something like that."

The reluctant HRH added, "And that's coming from her own lived experience. We got together, and she was like, 'wow, this is very different to what my friends at the beginning said it would be.'"

As for how Meghan allegedly felt about Megxit — she told Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, "Now, who as an adult really watches The Little Mermaid?"

"But it came on, and I was like well I'm just here all the time so, I may as well watch this," she added.

"And I went, 'Oh my God, she falls in love with a prince and because of that she has to lose her voice,'" Princess Henry continued. "But by the end, she gets her voice back."

Winfrey responded: "And this is what happened here, you feel like you've got your voice back."