Royal biographer Andrew Lownie is seeing similarities between the Duchess of Sussex and another Duchess who came before her, and if Meghan Markle had taken a page out of her predecessor’s playbook, possibly things would have gone differently for the American actress when marrying into the Royal Family
Meghan Markle made countless headlines when she married into the Royal Family in 2018 before leaving her royal duties behind. But she’s not the first Duchess to beat a retreat and end up pursuing commercial ventures instead of a life of service.
Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, also married into the Royal Family, but she wanted to pursue her business ventures and be half in, half out — sound familiar?
Royal biographer Andrew Lownie exclusively tells Mirror US that similarities between the Duchess of York and the Duchess of Sussex are only becoming more apparent as the years go by. Sarah holds onto her title of Duchess of York, but when she divorced her husband of ten years, Prince Andrew, she fell out of favor with the Royal Family and no longer has a seat at the table.
Mr. Lownie said: “She’s a sort of early role model for Meghan Markle with a bit more charm.”
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Meghan struggled with royal life, which she has spoken openly about, but it didn’t have to be like that, she could have learned from those who came before her, like Sarah Ferguson, it’s being said (Image: Netflix)
Since Fergie and Prince Andrew divorced in 1996, Sarah has been using her royal title in her business projects, such as The Duchess Collection. According to Lownie, using a royal title for commercial gain is a royal “no-no” when it comes to protocol, and was frowned upon by the rest of the Royal Family, including Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
Ahead of Lownie’s highly anticipated book, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, released in the US on August 14, the royal biographer told us: “I think what Philip and Elizabeth would’ve liked was for them to split in 1996 and for her to disappear like a lot of divorced wives do, and not to hang around, and not coming back to live in the house, and to curate her own separate life, and she hasn’t done that, her best way of making money is to piggyback off the royals.”
Lownie claims bluntly: “She is absolutely blatantly exploiting being a royal for commercial gain.”
Sarah Ferguson with her ex-husband Prince Andrew (Image: Getty Images)Sarah could have been a role model for Meghan
Sarah left the Royal Family via divorce, and Meghan left via airplane, moving to the US in 2020 with Prince Harry and their young son, Prince Archie, before welcoming their second child, Princess Lilibet.
Since resigning from her royal duties, Meghan has pursued a number of projects, most recently her popular Netflix series With Love, Meghan, and her e-commerce website As Ever. Some say she also leans on her royal ties, in some instances, the aesthetics of her branding and packaging.
Meghan liked to do things her own way
Meghan could have learned from Sarah. Unlike Sarah, it doesn’t seem like Meghan is waiting for a seat at the table with the Royal Family; she’s happy with her life in California, but that’s not to say Prince Harry feels the same way.
Harry has openly discussed missing home and wanting to reconcile with his family, specifically King Charles, which may happen in September when Harry returns to the UK for the WellChild Awards.
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