Royal correspondent Valentine Low is the reporter who published the story alleging that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s staffers were bullied by the Duchess of Sussex before the pair stepped down from their roles as working royals. The Sussexses have called the claims “a smear campaign” before Low spoke to several of those individuals who brought forth such accusations for his book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown.
The Times reporter has another book out titled Courtiers: Intrigue, Ambition, and the Power Players Behind the House of Windsor. Now, Low is discussing passages from this book, which was published on Jan. 24, including what he was told about Meghan thinking “she was going to be the Beyoncé of the U.K.”
When the Duchess of Sussex met Queen Bey
Meghan met Beyoncé in 2019 at the European premiere of The Lion King at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London.
The duchess brought up Beyoncé’s name in her Netflix docuseries when she told Harry that the superstar texted her and said that “she admires and respects my bravery and vulnerability and thinks I was selected to break generational curses that need to be healed.”
After the Sussexes’ interview with Oprah Winfrey aired in 2021, a message of support to Meghan was posted on Bey’s website that read: “Thank you Meghan for your courage and leadership. We are all strengthened and inspired by you.”
As for a personal text though, royal expert Neil Sean said he spoke to Beyoncé’s reps and they had no recollection of the artist sending a text to Meghan.
New book claims Meghan ‘thought she was going be the Beyoncé of U.K.’
In Low’s new book, he wrote that Meghan thought she would achieve the same star power the “Crazy in Love” singer has after she married Harry. Low told Fox News Digital that a former palace insider said Meghan “thought she was going to be the Beyoncé of the U.K.” after marrying the prince.
“I think they felt she wanted the stardom. She wanted the adulation,” Low explained.
The author claimed that Meghan was “less interested in cutting ribbons, opening hospitals, and doing all the frankly boring things that members of the royal family often have to do. [But] she liked the attention. Although she enjoyed the attention, Meghan failed to understand the point of all those walkabouts, shaking hands with countless strangers.”
Belief that Meghan not wanting to let go of her celebrity dream caused rift with royals
An American who married into a British aristocratic family like Meghan believes that the duchess didn’t understand that she couldn’t be the star when she joined the Firm.
Julie Montagu (nee Fisher) was born and raised in Sugar Grove, Illinois. After moving to London for a job she met Luke Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, the son and heir to John Montagu, 11th Earl of Sandwich. They tied the knot in 2004 and she became Viscountess Hinchingbrooke.
She is a blogger, an author, and hosted the show An American Aristocrat’s Guide to Great Estates. Today, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke has her own YouTube series called American Viscountess. She opined that the former Suits star’s issues with her in-laws were because of Meghan’s inability to let go of her dreams of being a celebrity figure within the royal family.
“You can’t really be anything you want to be or do anything you want to do or say anything you want to say,” the viscountess explained via the Daily Mail. “Your duty is to the [monarch] and that’s very difficult for someone like Meghan. To switch off that American dream and accept ‘now you have to do what we say’ is difficult.”
