Meghan Markle wanted to ‘be herself’ claims Julie Montagu

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Meghan and Harry’s astonishing interview with Oprah Winfrey is still a hot topic of discussion more than a week after it was first broadcast on ITV. The Sussexes explained why they decided to leave the Firm after less than two years on the royal frontline as a married couple. They said they felt “trapped” within the system of monarchy and hinted at internal battles behind Palace walls with royal courtiers over their public image.

When the Sussexes first announced their departure last January, royal spheres were stunned — but noblewoman Julie Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke, had predicted it months before.

She is married to the Earl of Sandwich’s heir and lives in the “finest Manor House in England” with her family.

Like the Duchess, Lady Montagu was born and raised in the US, and so she has often commented on how Meghan might adapt to life among British aristocracy.

She told Good Morning Britain in October 2019: “It wouldn’t surprise me if they moved to America.

“Why would they stay here? Why would you stay here, when you’re scrutinised all the time?”

She said that “when I first moved over here 20 years ago” she was confused about the nature of press coverage, as “we just don’t have the same thing” in the US.

Lady Montagu continued: “Why wouldn’t you want to raise your children in a place where you are being written about positively?”

Yet, GMB’s host Kate Garraway replied: “I’d like to think they are loved by the [British] people.”

Lady Montagu’s warning came hot on the heels of Meghan’s confession to ITV that she was “not OK” behind closed doors.

The Duchess also admitted that she thought the British sensibility of the “stiff upper lip” was actually “internally damaging”.

When the Sussexes’ announced their departure last year, Lady Montagu told media magazine Insider: “It didn’t surprise me.”

She said she had warned that unless the press attention on the couple relented, “they will move away”.

She continued: “And I was almost mocked for saying that, but sure enough they moved away.”

She added: “The second you have a family and a child, I think the last thing you want is your every move to be in the spotlight and critiqued.”

Some have criticised Meghan for her brief stint as a royal, as she announced she was stepping down before she had even reached her second wedding anniversary.

Last year, commentator Judith Woods wrote in the Telegraph: “Meghan was just not that into Britain.”

Lady Montagu even warned that the former actress would find certain British traditions difficult to cope with, ranging from the food to the cold temperature used in aristocratic homes to preserve the buildings.

However, Meghan singled out other elements of royal life which she found especially challenging when speaking to Oprah.

She said: “When I joined that family, that was the last time, until we came here, that I saw my passport, my driver’s licence, my keys.

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“All that gets turned over. I didn’t see any of that any more.”

She also claimed she was told she had to be silent by the Palace in the face of any criticism.

Lady Montagu has been wary of the amount of scrutiny Meghan would face from her very early days as a royal.

A month before the Duchess tied the knot, Lady Montagu warned Town & Country: “I suspect she will face some [criticism]. It’s like anything in life.

“We are outsiders coming in and some people don’t like outsiders.

“I have heard through the various English aristocracy grape vines that I’m the Scarlet Letter ‘A’ — the American — with it emblazoned on my forehead.

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“There is still this view, and it’s a minority view, that members of the aristocracy should be marrying other English roses.”

But, Lady Montagu also noted: “I think my biggest advice to her is definitely to keep your American roots.

“I’m sure that one of the main draws Prince Harry had to Meghan was her energy and optimism and that American can-do attitude because I know that’s what my husband said about me.” 

Oprah With Meghan and Harry is available on the ITV Hub.

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