Princess Diana set a standard for modern royalty that few could be expected to match. However, Meghan Markle was once expected to step into the late Princess of Wales’ shoes.
Royal author Simon Vigar compared the two figures in his new book The Four Wives of Windsor, describing the Duchess of Sussex as having “huge Princess Diana potential.” He pointed out that, like Diana, Meghan is “brilliant with the crowd” and “a doer.”
He added: “It is such a shame that it’s gone to waste.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce engagement outside of Kensington Palace.
Two years after Prince Harry and Meghan’s royal wedding in May 2018, they dropped their royal titles and moved to Montecito, California. In the years since, their relationship with the rest of the royal family has been deeply affected by security battles and high-profile confessions.
The author noted that Meghan came into the picture with “different expectations” than the late princess, hinting that her time as an actress came with more protection. He claims she “expected total PR control, which was not possible in the royal family."
“She should have been, could have been, fantastic for the royal family but egos on both sides got in the way,” he wrote. Simon also noted that her husband shared similar potential, writing that Harry and Meghan's union “should have been transformative" for the monarchy.
Princess Diana arrives at a performance of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
The royal author isn’t the first to compare the Duchess of Sussex to the late princess. Prince Harry has also highlighted similarities between his mother and wife.
In the Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, the Duke of Sussex said, “So much of what Meghan is, and how she is, is so similar to my mum. She has the same compassion, the same empathy, she has the same confidence, she has this warmth about her."