Meghan hated being ‘runner-up’ to Kate Middleton, was livid when staff didn't give her 'attention she deserved'
A royal author has claimed that Meghan Markle felt that she was “second place” to Kate Middleton and was not given the same respect as the Duchess of Cambridge while she and Prince Harry lived at the palace. Tom Quinn is the author of the book ‘Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle’.
Meghan is currently living in the US with Harry and their little son, Archie, after stepping back from royal duty at the end of March. The couple left the royal palace to start their own independent financial life. They have rented Tyler Perry's $18 million mansion in Los Angeles, California.
Speaking to the Daily Star Online, Quinn said: “Meghan and Harry were living in what's called Nottingham Cottage and it's probably the only bit that you genuinely really could say, is actually quite small. And so I think that reminded Meghan that she was, as it were, second place or as the runner-up.”
“So when Harry and Will got together and sometimes Meghan and Kate as well because there was this tension occasionally, famously Meghan slightly lost her temper with a member of Kate's staff in front of Kate,” Quinn stated as he continued, “And it was that incident, that I was told by someone who was actually there, who said it was really uncomfortable because Meghan just lost it with this person. The reason she lost it with Kate's member of staff was that she, Meghan, didn't feel that this person was giving her the sort of attention she deserved. It was almost as if in that one encounter, it encapsulated for Meghan the problem that she had, that she's a Princess and she's number two."
The royal author added: “She was very successful, coming into this alien environment where people behave towards you according to where you are in the status of who becomes King or Queen next, that's just alien to her. The way it was described to me was, there were raised voices and foot-stamping."
The incident apparently left Kate feeling "really upset". Meghan has reportedly asked a person to do something, but the person refused, saying, "I'm really sorry I can't do that because I work for Kate". "And Meghan really felt she had been slightly put in her place because if you become a Princess you kind of assume that staff when you ask them to do something, they are going to do it,” Quinn claimed.
He told the newspaper: “She (Kate) was horrified, she was really upset because she's very fond of this particular member of staff and she thought that Meghan almost bowling out this person was just completely unacceptable. She's very sensitive about not being treated with the same respect that she feels Kate is, so can react badly and doesn't take it lying down."
This comes after a new book claimed that the Duchess of Sussex has “very high standards” and her “Hollywood gung-ho attitude” created differences between her and royal aides. The book ‘Royals At War’ by investigative journalists Dylan Howard and Andy Tillett said that Meghan’s “West Coast energy” that included 5 am starts and “text message bombardments” distracted the staff. The book also revealed how the former ‘Suits’ star’s demanding standards led to “remarkable” staff turnover.