Meghan Markle Had a Team of 14 Giving Her a Princess Diaries-Style Training Course in How to Be Royal

Meghan Markle has talked about how difficult the transition to royal life was, but Tom Bower, and his new book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors are challenging her perspective. He is alleging that she had full access to 14 staff members, who were assigned to help with her adjustment after marrying Prince Harry.

Bower claims that Queen Elizabeth offered up her “close companions” to give advice to the Duchess of Sussex. The Queen reportedly “persuaded” her former assistant private secretary Samantha Cohen to move over to the Sussexes’ staff beginning in June 2018. “The mother of three agreed, as private secretary, to help Meghan through the wedding and beyond,” he wrote, in an excerpt obtained by Newsweek. That’s when Bower says Meghan got the full Mia Thermopolis treatment (Princess Diaries forever!). “Under Cohen, a team of 14 young, intelligent and experienced officials, including Jason Knauf, was assembled to introduce Meghan sensitively to the quirks and expectations of royal life and service to the nation. There would be, said the Palace, six months of listening and learning…”

Yup, we're still talking about the Platinum Jubilee because now, it's reported that every detail was a calculated move: including Meghan and Harry's seating arrangement. https://t.co/4VBs13n1vu

— SheKnows (@SheKnows) July 25, 2022

The royal author states that the palace understood “the importance of making a mixed-race woman welcome.” He continued,  “Cohen’s team tactfully sought to understand Meghan’s concerns, her priorities and how her ambitions.” That one-sided story (remember, he’s only fact-checked with anti-Meghan sources) shows a markedly different perspective from what the Duchess of Sussex shared. She told Oprah Winfrey in her March 2021 interview that she “went into it naively” and “didn’t fully understand what the job was.” Meghan added, “What does it mean to be a working royal? What do you do? What does that mean?”

The truth likely lies somewhere in-between, but it’s important to remember that Meghan nor Harry felt that there was a warm reception for her joining the royal family. Whether there were 14 people or one person available to help, the transition was a bumpy one that eventually led to their exit as senior royals.

Before you go, click here to see Meghan Markle’s best fashion moments as a royal.