Meghan Markle Sparked Panic Within Royal Family Over Plans to ‘Outshine’ the Queen and ‘Didn’t Understand’ Why the Late Monarch 'Always Had to Come First’
Meghan Markle left Buckingham Palace petrified over plans to outshine the Queen during her time as a working royal.
July 21 2025, Published 11:15 a.m. ET
Meghan Markle left members of the royal family "worried" with her plans to "outshine" the late Queen, according to a royal biographer.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the former Suits star, 43, caused a panic during her brief time as a working member of the family when she signaled she wanted to operate separately from the Queen.
Wanting To Do Her Own Thing
Meghan wanted to dictate her own plans within the institution and didn't appreciate being a 'servant' to the royal family.
Royal Author Tom Quinn said: "Buckingham Palace became really worried when they became aware that Meghan had plans for her life as a working royal that were not going to be part of a general strategy agreed with the staff – she just wanted to do her own thing.
"Which is fair enough if you're not a member of a tightly controlled institution, but it was never going to be acceptable that Meghan should outshine Princess Anne, Prince Charles (as he then was) and Elizabeth the Queen."
'You Do As You're Told'
Other royals knew their place behind the Queen in the pecking order of importance.
Speaking to Quinn, a former Courtier for Elizabeth said: "Elizabeth always had to be the center and focus of everything the Royal Family did, and I don't think Meghan understood why they had to make her do things she didn't want to do.
"She didn't understand that when you join the Royal Family, you don't do as you please, you do as you're told. In a sense, you become a servant of the family."
Quinn added that Meghan "undoubtedly felt constrained" by the Royal Family and that she and Harry needed to "do their own thing without consulting the big royal machine."
According to royal author Valentine Low, it was Meghan's yearning to monetize her royal title that led to "Megxit."
Money Ambitions
Meghan's decision to quit the royal family was sparked by her desire to earn money, according to royal expert.
Writing in his tell-all book Courtiers, Low claims that Meghan's desire to "earn money for herself" led the couple to abandon their duties entirely.
Low revealed that during discussions about how to reach a happy middle ground — which could please the whole family — multiple scenarios were explored.
These ranged from Harry and Meghan "having a month a year to do their own thing" to "spending most of their time privately but doing a select number of royal activities."
The one caveat for the Sussexes continuing royal duties — however small or minor was that they must stick to the "normal rules" about "royal behavior."
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Harry and Meghan gave up their full-time royal duties to move to California in 2020.
Crucially, that would mean Harry and Meghan could not "act or take decisions" in order to gain "financially."
Low writes: "Some suspected that in the end she wanted to make money. And the only way she was going to do that was by leaving her royal life behind and going back to America."
RadarOnline.com revealed this last week Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell said Prince Harry went directly against Queen Elizabeth's wishes to please his wife.
Burrell claimed before the couple moved across the pond, Elizabeth made it clear she didn't want a fallout with Harry.
Diana's former butler reportedly said: "She wanted Harry to stay as close to her as possible. But that couldn't be because the American in the equation wanted a different solution.
"Meghan wanted change."
