Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are always giving people something to talk about. In many ways, it is a byproduct of who they are. It’s impossible to avoid it. But there’s also the fact that the British royal family is going through some tough times, with King Charles sick, succession plans in place, and Prince Harry feuding with both his father and his brother, Prince William. Throw on top of that constant rumors about the state of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s marriage, and there’s always something to talk about.
Their marriage appears to be quite well, with Markle herself dispelling rumors on a recent podcast appearance, saying about Prince Harry, “He’s such a great partner. I feel that every day in how supportive he’s been and is,” and adding, “That man loves me so much and, you know, look what we’ve built. We’ve built a beautiful life, and we have two healthy, beautiful children.”
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But rumors about Markle’s supposed problematic behavior have plagued Markle for years, and now comes a new report from a neighbor of hers in Montecito, claiming she doesn’t really fit in. Richard Mineards, who lives in the area, spoke to the Daily Mail about Markle allegedly turning away a local elderly historian who wanted to gift her a copy of his documentary about the area when she and Prince Harry first moved in.
“The old man never got past the gate,” Mineards said, citing it as an example of Markle being distant. “She pays attention to every appearance, every word, every gesture,” Mineards said. “And here in Montecito, we appreciate simple people, even famous ones.”
“Meghan doesn’t play the community game,” he claimed, adding that she’s “never tried to fit in.” Meanwhile, the man had nothing but praise for Prince Harry, who, one would think, because of his upbringing, wouldn’t be as good at getting along with his neighbors. “He is always charming, approachable, with that very recognizable Windsor accent. He smiles, shakes hands, willingly exchanges a few words,” Mineards told the ourlet. “We’ve seen him at the beach, in an organic coffee shop, or cycling in the hills.” Basically, Prince Harry has translated the public politeness of the royal family to his new community.
This comes on the heels of British journalist Tom Quinn claiming Markle had earned the nickname “Duchess of Difficult” before she and Prince Harry stepped away from their royal duties. “She could be difficult because she was finding life difficult — trying to feel her way and work out the intricacies of a positively medieval, labyrinthine system,” an anonymous palace staff reportedly told Quinn.
Recent reports also indicate that Meghan Markle “berated” one of her wedding caterers so badly that the late Queen Elizabeth II had to intervene, according to royal biographer Katie Nicholl.
However, all of these reports are coming from the same people who have criticized Meghan Markle from the beginning, and who Prince Harry has denounced were part of a campaign against her. The same Tom Quinn, for example, spoke about Markle’s relationship with Kate Middleton in his book and wrote that the media blew the issues between the two out of proportion before the wedding, and there was no bullying involved.
“Whenever this sort of thing happens in the royal family, traditionally no one says anything publicly about it, so it rarely reaches the media, but on this occasion, all sorts of other grievances meant that what was really nothing but a storm in a teacup reached the media and became a big issue. I can tell you that all the papers and commentators got this wrong, the truth is that as with many of these spats between sisters, brothers or even sisters-in-law, both sides were really upset,” Quinn said.