'We upset the hierarchy just by existing': Meghan Markle hits out at Royal Family

29 August 2022, 17:08 | Updated: 29 August 2022, 17:09

Meghan Markle has hit out at the Royal Family, saying she and Prince Harry were "upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy... just by existing."

Meghan, speaking to The Cut in an explosive interview published today, said she and Harry were "happy" to move to another Commonwealth country where they could have financial freedom while remaining part of the Royal Family.

"That, for whatever reason, is not something that were allowed to do, even though several other members of the family do that exact thing," she said, adding that they were not "reinventing the wheel".

Asked whether she could forgive both her father and the Royal Family, Meghan said: "I think forgiveness is really important. It takes a lot more energy to not forgive, but it takes a lot of effort to forgive.

"I’ve really made an active effort, especially knowing that I can say anything."

Megan and Harry stepped down as working royals in January 2020 after moving to California.

The Duchess also revealed she may be returning to Instagram. She and Harry deleted their @sussexroyal account after taking the decision to step back from public duties.

She told The Cut: "I'm getting back … on Instagram" with interviewer Allison Davies describing "her eyes alight and devilish."

However, the article later said Megan was "no longer sure she would actually return to Instagram."

The article was published today after it was claimed Harry and Megan will not visit the Queen during their whirlwind trip to the UK next week amid an ongoing row over their security.

The pair, who last went to Balmoral in 2018, are said to not be visiting the Scottish Highlands estate where the Queen is set to remain for coming weeks due to her mobility issues.

They are believed to still be waiting for decisions on their security to be made for their UK visit, according to the Telegraph.

A Home Office panel is set to decide whether they qualify for protection by the Met Police.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are set to arrive in early September, which will be their first time back in the country since the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in June.

Read more: Prince Harry and Meghan 'unlikely to visit Queen' during whirlwind UK trip amid ongoing security row

Meanwhile Meghan last week released the first episode of her new Archetypes podcast.

Entitled The Misconception of Ambition with Serena Williams, Meghan talks to her close friend and tennis superstar Williams about the double standards women face when they are labelled "ambitious".

The duchess and the sports champion share personal stories about the struggles they felt as new mothers.

Meghan also talks about how her experience of the way ambition is perceived changed after embarking on her relationship with Harry.

"I don't remember ever personally feeling the negative connotation behind the word ambitious until I started dating my now husband," she said.

Williams reveals Harry helped her with the decision to retire from tennis long before it was announced, spending around an hour discussing the issue with her.

Meghan says: "I think, you know, I think both of us, or the three of us, really know that sometimes the right decision isn't the easiest decision."

She tells Williams: "It takes a lot of courage, I think, too, to stop something in many ways than to keep going sometimes."

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Harry also makes an appearance in the episode, with Meghan saying: "You wanna come say hi? Look who just popped in."

Meghan and Williams greet Harry with "Hello" in British accents, with Harry telling Williams: "I like what you've done with your hair. That's a great vibe."

Williams replies: "Thank you. Good to see you too as always, I miss you guys."

The duke responds "Well come and see us", with Meghan saying they will make a plan.

As Harry leaves, Meghan remarks: "Thanks my love."

And at one stage, the duchess recounts how her son Archie narrowly escaped a fire in his bedroom where he was supposed to be sleeping during the Sussexes' tour of South Africa.

Archie's then nanny, named only as Lauren, had taken the four and a half month old with her downstairs instead while she went to get a snack when, meanwhile, the heater in the nursery caught fire.

Read more: Queen 'deeply saddened' after more than 1,000 die in Pakistan flooding

Meghan said: "In that amount of time that she went downstairs, the heater in the nursery caught on fire. There was no smoke detector. Someone happened to just smell smoke down the hallway, went in, fire extinguished. He was supposed to be sleeping in there."

The former Suits star told how they had dropped their young son at the housing unit they were staying in for a sleep straight after arriving on their official tour, with Meghan and the Duke of Sussex leaving to carry out a visit to the Nyanga township, where the duchess delivered a speech.

"There was this moment where I'm standing on a tree stump and I'm giving this speech to women and girls, and we finish the engagement, we get in the car and they say there's been a fire at the residence. What? There's been a fire in the baby's room," she said.

Meghan added: "We came back. And, of course, as a mother, you go, 'Oh, my God, what?' Everyone's in tears, everyone's shaken. And what do we have to do? Go out and do another official engagement? I said, 'This doesn't make any sense'."