The wife of Prince Harry and her grandfather-in-law are said to have both struggled to fit into the Royal Family at first. And Meghan could have been “counselled” by the Duke of Edinburgh on how to deal with such a big lifestyle change if she had opened up to him. Royal expert Ian Lloyd explained Philip would have had some strong advice for the Duchess of Sussex if she had gone to him.
He wrote in Duke: 100 Chapters in the Life of Prince Philip: “If Meghan had consulted him about the problems she had in fitting in, I have no doubt he would have told her of his own.
“He would have counselled her.
“But he would also have said, ‘Put your head down and get on with it’.”
Mr Lloyd added Philip has a “profound respect” for the Royal Family establishment as he knows “duty is everything”.
Similarly to Meghan, Philip endured some xenophobia as he was not born in the UK and had been born into the Greek and Danish royal families, according to the book.
He added Harry and his grandfather have always been close, but Philip would most likely not have approved of his grandson’s decision to step down as it would be considered a “dereliction of duty”.
This is because Philip had an adverse upbringing and found himself “virtually an orphan” from age nine as his mother had a breakdown in 1930.
And he also faced presssure five years into his marriage to Elizabeth, when she became Queen in 1952 and he was thrust into the public eye.
READ MORE: Royal Family LIVE: Queen Elizabeth the last! Monarchy faces new threat
She added experiencing abuse while pregnant left her feeling “isolated”.
She said on the Teenager Therapy podcast: “I’m told that in 2019 I was the most trolled person in the entire world, male or female.
“Now, eight months of that I wasn’t even visible — I was on maternity leave or with a baby.
“If people are saying things about you that aren’t true, what that does to your mental and emotional health is so damaging.
“That’s so big, you can’t even think of what that feels like.”
In October 2019, Meghan and Harry embarked on a tour around South Africa, where they also spoke about troubles behind the scenes as members of the Royal Family – particularly when Meghan became a mother for the first time.
The Duchess said at the time: “Not many people have asked if I’m OK, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.
“Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging.
“And then when you have a newborn, you know. And especially as a woman, it’s a lot.”
Mr Bradby then asked if it would be fair to say that Meghan is “not really OK? As in, it’s really been a struggle?”
She then looked sad as she responded: “Yes.”
