EXCLUSIVE: Meghan Markle Wasted Chance to Be New Diana, Author Claims

Meghan Markle once possessed all the qualities needed to become the royal family's next Princess Diana but squandered the opportunity as relations with the monarchy unraveled, according to royal author Simon Vigar.

RadarOnline.com can reveal the writer argues the Duchess of Sussex could have transformed the institution had events taken a different course.

The duchess, 45, married Prince Harry, 41, in 2018 after a successful acting career, joining the royal family with what many viewed as a fresh perspective and global appeal.

However, less than two years later, the couple stepped back as senior working royals before relocating to California.

Since then, Harry and Markle have publicly criticized life within the monarchy through their interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Netflix series Harry & Meghan and Harry's memoir Spare.

Vigar revisits that turbulent period in his new book, The Four Wives of Windsor, arguing Markle held many of the qualities that once made Diana, Princess of Wales, such a compelling public figure.

A royal source claimed to Radar: "There was a genuine belief in the early days that Meghan had the charisma, confidence and ability to connect with people in a way that echoed Diana. She arrived with experience, confidence and a strong understanding of charitable work, and many believed she could redefine what a modern working royal looked like.

"The disappointment, from an institutional perspective, is that the relationship deteriorated before that potential could ever be fully realized. What could have become one of the monarchy's greatest strengths instead became one of its biggest divisions."

In the book, Vigar writes Markle had "huge Princess Diana potential" and describes her as "obviously a massive asset" who was "brilliant with the crowd" and "would have been a major player."

Reflecting on her charitable work, including the Together: Our Community Cookbook project created in support of survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire, he says the initiative demonstrated she was "a doer," adding: "it is such a shame that it's gone to waste."

Vigar also argues Markle entered royal life under very different circumstances from Diana. While Diana married into the royal family at 20, Markle was 36 and already had an established career and public profile.

Vigar said: "She should have been, could have been, fantastic for the royal family, but egos on both sides got in the way." He adds by 2019 "nobody was talking to each other" and the couple "seemed to be on a path where they felt alone."

According to Vigar, Harry and Markle "should have been transformative," but that opportunity ultimately slipped away.

Another royal insider claimed: "Comparisons with Diana have followed Meghan almost from the moment she joined the family because of the way she connected with the public and championed humanitarian causes. There was always an expectation that she could carve out a similar role, albeit in her own style.

"Instead, the relationship between the Sussexes and the institution broke down so dramatically that those comparisons became overshadowed by conflict rather than public service."

Markle has spoken openly about Diana's legacy, and Harry has frequently described similarities between the media treatment of his wife and that experienced by his late mother, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997 aged 36. Harry has said protecting Markle and their family became one of his driving motivations after leaving royal duties.

Last month, Harry and Markle returned to Britain with their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, for the first time in four years.

During the trip, the family also visited Althorp, the Spencer family estate, where Diana is buried on an island in the Oval Lake.

The private visit was widely seen as another reflection of Harry's determination to ensure his children understand the legacy of the grandmother they never had the chance to meet, while Markle has long acknowledged Diana's enduring influence on both her husband and their family's story.