Meghan Markle still hasn’t grasped what she signed up for

The complaints about Meghan Markle’s assimilation into the Royal Family have never been few or far between, but it’s her performance at Wimbledon that’s really got people up in arms, writes Katy Hall.

The Royal Family appears to have forgotten who they are.

Or rather, the newest import to the family, Meghan Markle, seems to have forgotten, which is no mean feat given how recently she joined it.

The Duchess of Sussex wants to “engage with people, not phones,” apparently. Or at least that’s the line one palace insider is spinning after reports surfaced that Meghan’s security team demanded tennis fans not take photos of her while she attended Wimbledon last week to cheer on her pal Serena Williams.

Err, sorry, what?

“It’s not uncommon for personal protection officers accompanying any members of the royal family to ask people not to take pictures so they can engage with people and events rather than camera phones,” the insider continued.

Okay, sure. But it’s also not uncommon for people to have the temerity to think that if a member of the royal family is sitting courtside at one of the biggest national sporting events of the year that they’re fair game for a snap.

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To be clear, this wasn’t as though any old Joe Blow from the nosebleed section wandering over, shoving a phone in her face at a bad angle and heckling at her to smile. The Duchess and her friends had an entire box to themselves with rows of empty seats either side of them and a perfectly clear line of sight onto the court.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex watched the ladies' Singles Second round match with friends but reportedly requested other spectators not take photos of her. Picture: Laurence Griffiths/Getty

Those trying for photos were simply a few tennis-mad fans celebrating their luck at seeing one of the greatest female players of their lifetime and a Duchess in the same place at the same time and wanting to document it for social media.

To some that kind of thing may be cringe-worthy, sure, but it’s certainly not deserving of a telling off from a security guard.

According to media consultant Sally Jones, who was at the Wimbledon women’s singles match attended by the Duchess, Meghan and Harry “see themselves more as A-list celebrities rather than royals carrying out their duties”.

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But here’s the thing. Even if that moderately offensive utopian dream was true and Meghan was simply a celebrity - as opposed to being a celebrity and a royal - she’d still be photographed at Wimbledon. Every year the place is teeming with celebrities, and just like the royals, they too have people snapping photos of them throughout matches. That’s just what happens when you’re a) famous, and b) leave the house and attend a highly publicised and celebrated annual event.

All week we’ve seen pictures of Anna Wintour, Tessa Thompson, Rebel Wilson and Prince Frederik of Denmark, enjoying various matches. Hell, we even saw pictures of Meghan’s sister-in-law, Kate Middleton enjoying herself there.

Harry and Meghan kept the christening of their son Archie private. Picture: Chris Allerton/Sussexroyal/AFP

The other glaringly obvious problem with the Harry and Meghan’s vision of their lives as celebrities first and royals second is that it fails to acknowledge the uncomfortable truth about their exorbitant wealth, and where it actually comes from.

While the majority of celebrities line their pockets with money made through their own hard work, the royal family keeps itself wildly comfortable through a mix of taxpayer funds and inherited fortunes.

Last time I checked, not a single celebrity was able to bill the public $4.4 million for their home renovation. But if they did, there’d surely be a similar expectation for them to play the part, attend official functions, and smile and wave when the cameras point their way during a break in the tennis.

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For better or worse, being a member of the royal family means that people will want to take pictures of you until the day you die. And even then they’ll probably even want to take photos of your gravesite. That’s the trade-off for a life of immense wealth and privilege.

Having boundaries around private lives and children is perfectly reasonable, but attending the nation’s most celebrated annual tennis event and then complaining that people are paying you attention a mere 12 months after televising your own wedding is just poor form.

Since joining the royal family, Meghan Markle has been criticised in just about everything that she – and her estranged family members - does. And for the most part, it’s been rather unfair and based on little evidence. But it’s difficult to feel sorry for someone who is happy to take perks like a free courtside box at Wimbledon, but then baulks at someone daring to want a picture on their phone in return.

So it begs the question, if the royal box isn’t good enough for Meghan Markle, where is?

@katyhallway