‘Recollections may vary,’ was the Queen’s famous response to Prince Harry and Meghan’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in which the Sussexes made racism accusations against the Firm.
This phrase seems to apply to much of Meghan’s time as a senior working royal as the version of events she speaks so openly about now often contradicts what the public saw of Meghan during her time with the royal fold.
On the latest episode of Palace Confidential, the Daily Mail’s royal editor, Rebecca English, and presenter Jo Elvin discussed part two of With Love, Meghan, which dropped on Netflix on Tuesday.
To promote the series, Meghan appeared on The Circuit with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang where she spoke about the ‘inherent tension’ between ‘trying to be relatable’ while also being a Duchess.
Speaking on the hit YouTube show, Rebecca, who has been covering the royal beat since 2004, said: ‘It was a soft interview but there were a few interesting questions asked.
‘Her answers were well thought out and there were definitely a few digs at the Royal Family.’
Jo Elvin, who hosts the hit YouTube show as well as making regular appearances on ITV’s Lorraine, said: ‘Some people are interpreting Meghan’s comments about wearing tights as a slight against the Royal Family.
Rebecca said: ‘Meghan said that having to wear these “pantyhose” [tights] was inauthentic for her as a person.’
To promote her Netflix series, Meghan Markle appeared on The Circuit with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang where she spoke about the ‘inherent tension’ between ‘trying to be relatable’ while also being a Duchess
On the latest episode of Palace Confidential, the Daily Mail’s royal editor, Rebecca English (L), and presenter Jo Elvin (R) discussed part two of With Love, Meghan, which dropped on Netflix on Tuesday.
Speaking on the hit YouTube show, Rebecca, who has been covering the royal beat since 2004, said: ‘It was a soft interview but there were a few interesting questions asked’
‘It was all tied up with the time in her life – she didn’t mention the Royal Family by name but it’s quite clear what she was referring to – where she wasn’t able to be as vocal as she wanted to be and was not able to use her voice properly.
‘Understandably, this has sparked quite a lot of debate about whether women in the Royal Family are expected to wear tights.
‘Like anything, I think it was quite a deliberate statement on her behalf. It’s another dig I just don’t think she needs to make.’
Rebecca pointed out another inconsistency in Meghan’s narrative.
In her lifestyle series, the Duchess said she always wears monochrome because it’s the ‘easiest way to dress’.
Rebecca said: ‘Yet she made a huge deal about one of the constricting things about the Royal Family being that she wasn’t able to wear the colour that she normally favoured.
‘So again there’s so much inconsistency there that doesn’t quite make sense and is a very revisionist version of what she experienced.
‘Again, on this, it seems that recollections may vary.’
In With Love, Meghan, the Duchess said she always wears monochrome because it’s the ‘easiest way to dress’
Meghan appeared to take a new swipe at the royal family as she appeared on a podcast to promote her Netflix show (pictured in season two of With Love, Meghan)
While speaking to Bloomberg’s Emily Chang over smashed burgers and pints of beer, Meghan is asked if there is an ‘inherent tension’ between ‘trying to be relatable’ while also being a Duchess
Jo said: ‘We’ve heard her say many times that she couldn’t be vocal when she was in the Royal Family but what is she saying now?’
Rebecca pointed out that Emily Chang asked Meghan this very question, touching on Meghan’s appearance on Larry Wilmore’s The Nightly Show in 2016, in which she branded Donald Trump ‘misogynistic’ and ‘divisive’, especially with female voters.
Speaking about the video, Emily asked if there was anything Meghan was ‘dying to say right now, but you feel like you can’t’ – appearing to ask her current views on US politics.
But Meghan simply responded ‘no’, before appearing to change the subject: ‘I just make a choice of what matters to me and what’s important to me. And that was a different time in 2016.’
Rebecca said: ‘Meghan immediately backpaddled and pulled away from the question.
‘I have to say, I think Meghan pushed a lot of boundaries when she was a member of the Royal Family with her guest editing an edition of Vogue, the creation of her cookbook and talking about wanting to do work on women’s rights.
‘When we work for big organisations, we don’t tend to proffer our personal opinions quite a lot and that’s just part and parcel of working for a company – whether it’s a firm or The Firm.
‘So I’ve never quite bought into that argument of hers.’
Rebecca wrote about Harry being the ‘proverbial ghost’ of Meghan’s new Netflix series in this week’s Palace Confidential newsletter.
In the free newsletter, which is delivered to subscribers’ inboxes every Thursday, Rebecca wrote: ‘The Duchess of Sussex waves around “my husband’s” birthday baseball cap – bearing the slogan ‘PH40’, in case anyone forgets his royal status – during a lesson on how to pack a suitcase (yes, really).
‘She modestly reveals that it was he who gushed “I love you” first, then announces with newsreader-level intensity that he doesn’t like lobster.
During Meghan’s appearance on Larry Wilmore’s The Nightly Show in 2016, she branded President Trump ‘misogynistic’ and ‘divisive’
‘The fifth in line to the throne is shoehorned into the narrative at every flower-sprinkled opportunity, along with the couple’s children, Archie and Lilibet.’
Also in the newsletter, Rebecca wrote that the only message she has had from anyone in royal circles, amusingly, in response to this week’s launch was a ‘yawning’ emoji.
In the episode, Rebecca said: ‘I think a lot of people would love to think, even with the digs about the tights and inauthenticity and not being able to use her voice, that there would be outrage about it.
‘There is not. In fact, I would say it’s the opposite. It’s almost indifferent.
‘It’s so inoffensive compared to some of the really designed to wound barbs that her and Harry have made about the Royal Family in recent years that now, no one is really saying anything.
‘I think the yawning emoji reaction is probably all you need to know.’
For more fascinating insights from the Mail’s team of unrivalled experts, watch the latest episode of Palace Confidential in full now and subscribe to the Daily Mail Royals YouTube channel.
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