In 2018, Meghan Markle married Prince Harry, and she became one of the most prestigious royal families in the world. However, the senior member of the royal family seems to have higher ambitions than becoming the Duchess of Sussex. According to some reports, Meghan is hell-bent on elevating her royal status in order to catch up with or surpass her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton.
Meghan's critics allege that she made unreasonable demands shortly after marrying Prince Harry to obtain a place to live commensurate with her new status as a senior royal. William and Kate live in the 20-room 1a apartment at Kensington Palace, while Harry and Meghan live in the more modest Nottingham Cottage.
With only two bedrooms, Nottingham Cottage is hard to compare to the sprawling homes of the Cambridge couple, which includes three kitchens, two nurseries and an elevator. Sources say Meghan is angry at claims that suggest she has a lower status than William's wife. Shortly after moving in, Meghan reportedly made rather ambitious accommodation requests to the royal staff.
Specifically, Meghan is said to have asked about suites inside Windsor Castle, the iconic country home where the British royal family has long lived. The prospect of living under the same roof as Queen Elizabeth certainly appealed to Meghan's quest for elite status.
But Windsor Castle is also home to the Royal Collection Trust, which offers year-round visits to the palace. Since these tours helped fund the maintenance of the castle and the crown jewels, it was considered inappropriate to receive Meghan privately within its historic walls. Royal experts believe that the queen and her aides were wise to reject Meghan's bold offer, an act that is meant to compare Kate.
Royal commentator Kinsey Schofield explained: "Meghan wanted something similar to what the Cambridges had at Kensington Palace. ”
She seems hell-bent on competing with Kate, trying to compete with her position in the family. ”
Living with the Queen will certainly boost Meghan's prestige compared to the pragmatic Duchess of Cambridge.
But Meghan reportedly angered the traditionally cautious royal family by pushing for escalation too aggressively. Some believe that her demands at Windsor Castle do not respect the agreement to protect the monarch from unnecessary interference and to be a spectacle. This rejection also reinforces Meghan's subordination compared to Kate, who has proven herself to be an exemplary royal.
Meanwhile, William and Kate's spacious Kensington Palace apartments allow them to raise their growing family in an idyllic retreat away from prying eyes. The residence is also close to Kate's parents, Michael and Carol Middleton, which allows the close-knit family to spend more time together.
In contrast, the Nottingham Cottage is too small for Meghan and Harry, who are about to have children, to meet their long-term needs. However, ** said that Meghan insisted on her opinion and refused to back down from the request of the majestic Windsor Castle Suite. Her stubbornness may have sown the seeds of tension within the royal family.
As a new addition to the royal family, Meghan's ambitions are understandable, but an overzealous pursuit of status symbols could interfere with the delicate rules. The royal family valued detail more than ornate displays, preferring the organic evolution of royal status over the course of several decades rather than hastily asserting it. What Meghan is reportedly having trouble accepting is that, like all newcomers to the royal family, she will have to patiently prove herself in order to get the privileges of being a senior member.
If Meghan had gratefully embraced Nottingham Cottage as an opportunity to learn from the experience and adapt to the day-to-day routine of the royal family, her relationship with the royal establishment could have been more enabled. However, constantly comparing herself to the much-loved Kate, and the queen considers Kate to be an exemplary daughter-in-law, has intensified the unfavorable talk of Meghan Markle's "difficult duchess". In retrospect, a more humble attitude may have served Meghan better in the early months of joining the royal family.
The story of Windsor Castle is a minor dispute within the wider royal spectrum, but it teaches us the importance of patience, humility and consensus. No one can immediately change a thousand-year-old institution to its exact liking.
May has reportedly been honed by time and experience in the royal role. But the initial strong demand for a private suite in the Queen's own territory, rather than appreciating the cottage as a transitional stage, shows an overly impulsive newcomer mentality. In esteemed institutions, patience and politeness often lead to more success than impatience and demand.
With the passage of time and the accumulation of experience, Meghan has undoubtedly become wiser in her royal role. But at first, Meghan asked the queen to let her have a private suite instead of admiring the stepping stones of the small villa, which showed her overly reckless newcomer spirit.
If Meghan, like Kate, had focused less on competition with her sister-in-law and more on seamlessly adapting to royal customs, her journey might have gone more smoothly. In a respected institution, patience and politeness often go further than impatience and self-righteousness.