Princess Diana’s Former Butler Dishes Out His Thoughts On Why Prince Harry Married Meghan Markle

FameMay 20, 2020

At the start of the year, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle started their transition from actively working as senior royal members of the British royal family to embracing the ordinary life. They said that they wanted more independence. However, their reason for stepping back may go a little deeper.

Months before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shocked the world with the news, Harry reportedly wrote a letter addressed to publishers of British tabloids saying that bullying aimed toward Meghan should be stopped. He didn’t want her to go through the same things as his mom, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, did when she was still alive. Diana, the mother of Princes William and Harry and the first wife of Prince Charles, passed away in a car crash in August 1997 after trying to get away from the paparazzi.

Shaun Jeffers/Shutterstock | Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have officially stepped down from their roles as senior royals.

The similarities between Diana and Meghan may be more than just the extreme scrutiny they got from the British press. In an interview with Closer magazine, Diana’s former butler, Paul Burrell, said that the 35-year-old British prince may have fallen for the 38-year-old American former actress because of her similar personality with his mom. Burrell added that both women are known for standing up for their beliefs and not being pushovers.

When she was still alive, Princess Diana became an international icon because of her activism and glamour. She easily became the “people’s princess” and consequently earned immense popularity and public scrutiny. Meanwhile, Meghan has been outspoken about feminism and has addressed certain issues like gender inequality.

However, this similarity doesn’t mean that they’d automatically be best friends, according to Paul. On the contrary, he thinks that they would have probably clashed. Having two strong, independent women with different views together may lead to some tension. He says that it would have been a battle between Diana’s way and Meghan’s way.

mark reinstein/Shutterstock | Princess Diana was loved by the people and was often dubbed as the People’s Princess.

As Paul theorized, a major difference between two of the most important women in Harry’s life is that Meghan, being a Hollywood celebrity, was already somewhat used to the spotlight when she entered her marriage to Prince Harry. On the other hand, Diana was young and naive when she married Prince Charles in 1981 at 20 years old.

Paul says that since Diana didn’t have a voice, she decided to do the autobiography titled Diana: Her True Story—In Her Own Words with journalist Andrew Morton. The book was published in 1997, and Diana wooed the press over the years. Paul added that her strong-mindedness shows that she cared for the people of the country and that she felt that they have the right to know what went on behind closed doors.

Blueskynet/Shutterstock | The Duke and Duchess of Sussex got married on May 19, 2018.

To protect their family, Harry and Meghan announced in January 2020 that they would be stepping back from their royal duties. They also revealed their plans of being financially independent and balancing their time between the United Kingdom and North America. The transition was officially completed on March 31.