Meghan Markle Couldn't 'Switch Off That American Dream' & Report To The Queen, Viscountess Claims In New Documentary
Meghan Markle has not made it easy for the royal family over the years, and now U.S.-born viscountess Julie Montagu claims that's because the former actress was used to growing up in America.
"You can't really be anything you want to be or do anything you want to do or say anything you want to say," Montagu — who was born in Illinois but moved to the U.K. when she married Luke Timothy Charles Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke — explained in the Channel 5 documentary Meghan at 40: The Climb to Power. "Your duty is to the Queen and that's very difficult for someone like Meghan."
"To switch off that American dream off and accept 'now you have to do what we say' is difficult," she continued. "It's difficult to have love and duty work simultaneously and together and that's what Harry and Meghan wanted in negations with the Queen, this synergy, that they can make work, but the Queen said no."
Earlier this year, Meghan and Harry made headlines after they claimed that someone in the royal family was concerned over Archie's skin color and that they struggled with their mental health while living in the U.K.
"I think she felt it was an opportunity for her to not only share it with the world, but she hoped the royal family was actually listening," Montagu said of the couple's Oprah Winfrey interview. "It's difficult to pinpoint why she did it, but I think it's clear they were every angry."
Despite Queen Elizabeth releasing a statement in which she apologized, royal author Tom Quinn believes Meghan and Harry "were hoping [the royal family] would phone and say, 'We're sorry we pushed you too far, we should have sat you down and spoke about your mental health issue.'"
"I think [Meghan] was horrified that the reaction was so negative from the family, and they didn't respond in the way she wanted," Quinn continued. "Meghan thought when she entered the royal family she could shake things up and they would love it, they would do things Meghan's way. And when that didn't happen, and when she came up against what she sees as the forces of reaction, it made her so upset. That interview was her way to get revenge and put the case as she saw it. But I think later on she will think I shouldn’t have burnt my bridges to that extent."
