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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s realization of their position within the Royal Family is said to have crystallized during their 2019 trip to Australia. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex once thought to be taking a starring role in the monarchy, reportedly began to understand their true status as they were confronted with the rigid demands of royal protocol.
In an interview with The Sun, Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty Magazine, explained how the couple’s experience down under may have been a turning point for them, particularly for Meghan. “I think it was a bit of a shock [that] she was being told what to do, she was being told where to go and she was being told how to do it,” Seward said. Despite being in the spotlight during the trip, Seward emphasized that Meghan’s role was far less significant than it may have seemed at the time. “She was taking a starring role in the actual size of the monarchy, she was just a little pinpoint.”
Seward went on to explain that while Meghan may have appeared to be a central figure on the Australian stage, in reality, she was merely a part of the larger royal machinery. “At that moment in Australia, she was a starring role, but she wasn’t really, she was just a cog in the wheel,” she noted. Meghan, according to Seward, began to realize that her status was always going to be secondary due to her marriage to Prince Harry, who was not the heir to the throne but the “number two man.”
This realization, according to Seward, was a pivotal moment in the couple’s growing dissatisfaction with their role in the royal institution. She reflected on the emotional impact this had on the Duchess: “I think it was an eye-opener for her that she was always going to be a cog in the wheel because she was married to number two man [and] not the number one man, which would have been [Prince] William.”
Seward also suggested that this trip marked the beginning of tension between the Sussexes and the Royal Family. “I agree with the royal commentators, that was definitely when the rot began to fester a little bit,” she concluded.
The Australian tour, widely viewed as a success at the time, has since been revisited by experts and commentators alike as a significant moment in the couple’s relationship with the monarchy. It has been speculated that the tour was a catalyst for the frustrations that eventually led to their decision to step back from royal duties and seek a more independent life. Now, years later, this trip serves as a poignant example of how appearances can differ from the realities of life inside the royal institution.
