Meghan Markle was not ready for royal role, says wedding dressmaker

• Chloe Savage, Meghan Markle’s wedding dressmaker, says Markle “misjudged the role” of being a royal.
• Savage believes Kate Middleton had “a lot of time to adjust” while Markle “dived headfirst.”
• “The royal family has broken people before,” Savage added. “It practically broke Diana.”
• Visit the Insider home page for more stories.

As one of the women who helped craft Meghan Markle’s iconic wedding dress, professional embroiderer Chloe Savage got a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the royal wedding that would capture the world’s attention.

Fast forward almost three years and Markle and Prince Harry have since taken a step back from the royal family, forging their own path with their 20-month-old son Archie in California.

It is a gesture that surprised many. But Savage told Insider she believes the former actress wasn’t prepared enough for the pressure that comes with being a royal.

“I think she misjudged the role,” Savage said. “The royals have broken people up before. Kate has had a lot of time to adjust and adjust to it, they’ve given her time. So Meghan kind of dove in head first.”

While Middleton and Prince William dated for eight years before their wedding in 2011, Markle and Prince Harry announced their engagement just one year after publicly confirming their relationship.

Read more: Designers of Princess Diana’s iconic wedding dress argue over historic sketches of her in court

Savage doesn’t think Markle was prepared for all the “rules and regulations” that are demanded of a British royal.

“It practically broke Diana, it broke Sarah Ferguson,” Savage told Insider. “He’s broken people up before. I know it’s looser now than before but, even then, I don’t think so. [Meghan] was prepared for the things she could and could not do, say and wear. ”

“She could have carved out an exceptional role for herself, but I think she found it all very difficult,” she added. “She was always able to do whatever she wanted when she was happy and, unfortunately, with the royal family, Grandma rules – quite simply.

Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Markle and Prince Harry have been open about the immense pressure they have felt over the past few years

Harry recently blamed the media for spreading a “false story” about his relationship with Markle.

“My story was told in a way, my wife’s story was told in a way, and then our union triggered something that made the telling of this story very different,” he said. . Fast company in an interview published on Friday.

“This fake story has become the mothership for all the harassment you talk about. It wouldn’t even have started if our story had just been told honestly,” he added.

Markle said she was unprepared for the attention she would receive from UK tabloids after she started dating Harry

“It’s difficult. I don’t think anyone can understand this, but in all honesty, I had no idea,” she told reporter Tom Bradby in her famous candid interview featured in the documentary. ITV “Harry and Meghan: An African Journey” in 2019.

Markle revealed that when she told her British friends that she was dating Prince Harry, they warned her to end.

“My British friends have said to me, ‘I’m sure he’s great, but you shouldn’t be doing it because the British tabloids are going to destroy your life,'” she told Bradby.

But Markle had thought they were overreacting.

“What are you talking about? It makes no sense. I’m not in the tabloids,” she recalls telling them. “I didn’t understand it.”

The Duchess of Sussex said she then ‘tried to embrace that British sensibility of a stiff upper lip’

“I tried, I tried. But I think what it’s doing internally is probably really damaging,” Markle added. “It’s not enough to just survive something, right? That’s not the point of life. You have to thrive, you have to feel happy.”

More recently, Bradby said he believes the couple are now “satisfied” with their new life in the United States since retiring from the royal family.

“I think they’re feeling better, yeah,” Bradby said on ITV’s “Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh” earlier this month.

“So are they unhappy? No,” he added. “I think they’re happy, the things they’re doing they’re very excited about.”