When Meghan Markle joined the royal family, there was so much hope for the “Fab Four” and what the Sussexes, along with Prince William and the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton), could achieve together. But less than two years after they tied the knot, Prince Harry and his bride said forget it and moved to America.

Everyone in the duke’s family, including Queen Elizabeth II, seemed surprised by their decision to step down, even though there were reportedly cracks early on showing that Meghan wanted out.

Now, we’re hearing about some of the concerns household staffers and the queen had with Meghan and what the late monarch told one of her closest confidants about the former Suits star.

Meghan and Kate ‘weren’t working well together’ and the duchess wanted out

Before her death in 2022, Queen Elizabeth spoke to her cousin, Lady Elizabeth Anson, every day. Anson relayed some of those conversations to biographer Sally Bedell Smith.

Anson recalled that about six months after the Sussexes’ wedding, it became clear to those who were on Meghan’s staff that she had a strong personality and “opinionated and forceful” demeanour. One staffer claimed that the prince’s new wife wasn’t trying “to fit into the royal family” and was focused, instead, on forcing “her view on Harry.” The duchess also wasn’t getting along with her husband’s sibling and his wife.

“Meghan and William and Kate are not working well,” Anson told Bedell Smith (per the Daily Mail). “That is what the queen said, particularly about the two girls. It’s worrying that so many people are questioning whether Meghan is right for Harry. The problem, bless his heart, is that Harry is neither bright nor strong, and [Meghan] is both.”

Sally said they also suggested that Meghan “wanted that royal title that she could leverage” and was expecting “more money” and a much more lavish lifestyle than what she got after marrying into the royal family.

In his book Yes Ma’am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants, author Tom Quinn wrote: “Meghan Markle had a typically American view of the royal family before she joined it — for her, life was all about castles, glittering balls, and limitless wealth and ease. As one royal staff member put it, ‘She expected a billionaire and she got a millionaire.’”

Queen Elizabeth thought Harry’s love for Meghan ‘clouded his judgment’

According to royal commentator and historian Robert Jobson, who authored the book Our King Charles III — The Man And The Monarch Revealed, the queen also felt that Harry’s love for Meghan “clouded his judgment” with his family.

“In truth, by the time his grandmother died, Harry had precious few supporters left in the family,” Jobson wrote. “Even the queen, who had always had great affection for him, eventually tired of his outbursts.

“First, she had wearied of the volatile exchanges between Harry and his brother, which sometimes took place in her presence. Then Harry and Meghan had started publicly criticizing both the monarchy and members of the royal family. At that point, the queen was frankly mystified by the couple’s behavior, describing it as ‘quite mad.’ She came to believe, however, that her grandson was ‘so consumed’ by his love for his wife that it was ‘clouding his judgment.’”