{"id":2456050,"date":"2026-06-12T09:20:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T09:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2456050"},"modified":"2026-06-12T09:20:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T09:20:42","slug":"meghan-markle-queens-secretary-of-13-years-left-dumbfounded-by-this-one-thing-duchess-of-sussex-did","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/meghan-markle-queens-secretary-of-13-years-left-dumbfounded-by-this-one-thing-duchess-of-sussex-did\/","title":{"rendered":"Meghan Markle: Queen\u2019s secretary of 13 years left \u2018dumbfounded\u2019 by this one thing Duchess of Sussex did"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"ArticleContent\">\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">One of Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s closest former aides has revealed she was left completely shocked by claims made by Meghan Markle, admitting she was \u201cdumbfounded\u201d by one of the most explosive chapters in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex\u2019s royal fallout.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">Ailsa Anderson, who spent almost 13 years working as the late monarch\u2019s press secretary, reflected on the controversy in a new documentary aired in the UK examining Prince Harry and Ms Markle\u2019s standing in the US.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">The Channel 5 program, Harry &amp; Meghan: Has America Had Enough?, explores how public opinion towards the couple has evolved since they stepped back from royal duties and relocated to North America.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1sli41u-StyledInlineContainer eze0guv0\">\n<div class=\"css-1cjzv6h-StyledContainer eze0guv14\">\n<div class=\"css-xfurzh-StyledContentContainer eze0guv12\">\n<div mode=\"inline-article\" class=\"css-12xvyva-StyledFormContainer eze0guv11\">\n<p class=\"css-3mk41m-StyledText eze0guv9\">Sign up to The Nightly&#8217;s newsletters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1r9pdr5-StyledSubText eze0guv8\">Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"css-115rfbc-StyledTermsText eze0guv1\">By continuing you agree to our<!-- --> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thenightly.com.au\/subscription-terms\">Terms<\/a> <!-- -->and<!-- --> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sevenwestmedia.com.au\/privacy-policies\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">During the show, which is set to air this weekend, attention turns to Harry and Meghan\u2019s bombshell 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, which sent shockwaves through the royal family and dominated global headlines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">Among the most controversial was the Duchess of Sussex\u2019s allegation that concerns had been raised about the colour of her baby\u2019s skin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">\u201cSo we had in tandem the conversation of he won\u2019t be given security, he\u2019s not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he is born,\u201d Ms Markle told Oprah at the time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">Reacting to Ms Markle\u2019s claims, Ms Anderson said she struggled to reconcile the claims with her own experience working for Queen Elizabeth II. .<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">\u201cThis was not the monarch I recognised. I worked for the late Queen for almost 13 years. I have never ever heard any utterings, in private or in public, of anything of a racial nature, ever. Absolutely ever,\u201d she said, according to <a target=\"_blank\" class=\"css-hwy1qg-StyledTextLink ezegcyi0\" data-link-type=\"article-inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/royals\/i-worked-queen-elizabeth-13-37280551\">Mirror<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">\u201cSo I was dumbfounded\u2026 I really was.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">Buckingham Palace released a statement in the wake of the interview, with the Queen saying \u201csome recollections may vary\u201d in response to suggestions of racism.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">The former royal secretary also took issue with claims later made by Ms Markle in a behind the scenes of her Netflix documentary, where the Duchess suggested she was given \u201cstrict instructions\u201dabout the colours she could wear while carrying out royal duties.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">\u201cWhen those queries and doubts start creeping in, the public start doubting everything else you are talking about. It\u2019s a gradual erosion of her credibility,\u201d Ms Anderson said in response to those claims.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">But Ms Anderson is confident the Duke and Duchess of Sussex can bounce back from public backlash they have received over the years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s too late for them. I mean, who would have thought President Trump was going to be president again?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1cszuyn-StyledMobilePaddingContainer eywe6cv4\">\n<p class=\"css-9czhig-StyledParagraph e4e0a020\">\u201cThe world is a very forgiving place. They haven\u2019t murdered anyone. If they can\u2019t find a place in America, where can they find a place?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source thenightly.com.au \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s closest former aides has revealed she was left completely shocked by claims made by Meghan Markle, admitting she was \u201cdumbfounded\u201d by one of the most explosive chapters in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex\u2019s royal fallout. Ailsa Anderson, who spent almost 13 years working as the late monarch\u2019s press secretary, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2456051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[27155,28927],"class_list":["post-2456050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty","tag-royals","tag-world"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Meghan-Markle-Queens-secretary-of-13-years-left-\u2018dumbfounded-by.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2456050"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2456052,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2456050\/revisions\/2456052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2456051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2456050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2456050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2456050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}