Meghan Markle: Queen’s childhood friend Anne Glenconner blasts Duchess

A member of the late Queen’s inner circle has slammed Meghan Markle for not embracing royal life as rumours grow that Prince Harry is planning a bold move.

The late Queen’s childhood friend has blasted Meghan Markle for not embracing royal life.

British socialite Anne Glenconner, who was one of the Queen’s maids of honour at the 1953 coronation, said the wife of Prince Harry had no idea that life as a royal was not all glitz and glamour.

Baroness Glenconner was a member of the Queen’s inner circle for over 50 years and was also a lady-in-waiting to the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, from 1971 until the Princess’ death in 2002.

Meghan Markle has been criticised by one of the Queen’s childhood friends. Picture: Getty Images

Speaking on the Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth podcast, the 91-year-old said Meghan had no clue what royal life and duties actually entailed.

“I think the thing about Meghan was, she had no idea what was expected of her really,” Baroness Glenconner told royal author Brandreth.

“I think she just thought it was sort of like being another actress, you know.

“Riding around in a golden coach and everything like that. And actually, being a member of the royal family — a lot of it is extremely boring.”

The Duchess of Sussex, pictured in Sydney in 2018, was not prepared for the more mundane aspects of royal life, says a close friend of the late Queen. Picture: AFP

Baroness Glenconner claimed that during the coronation of King Charles, she sat next to former US Secretary of State John Kerry and asked him what Americans thought of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

She claimed he replied: “We all feel very, very sorry for Harry. I think I can just leave it at that.”

Anne Glenconner has written books about her eventful life. Picture: Hal Shinnie

Baroness Glenconner became a publishing phenonemenon at the age of 87 after revealing some of her royal secrets in her 2020 memoir, Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown.

She was briefly engaged to Johnnie Althorp, Princess Diana’s late father, before the engagement was broken off.

The socialite turned author with Princess Margaret. Picture: Hal Shinnie

Her follow-up book, Whatever Next? Lessons from an Unexpected Life, detailed her troubled marriage to Lord Colin Tennant, the eccentric aristocrat who turned the island of Mustique a high society haven for royals and celebrities.

She was portrayed in the third and fourth seasons of Netflix’s royal drama The Crown by Grace Stone and Nancy Carroll.

It comes amid reports that Prince Harry is keen on rebuilding his life in his home country, just three years after they stepped down from their roles in the royal family and moved to the US.

“There is a divide between the couple on this issue but they will soon start looking for a property of their own near London, and Harry is very much leading this,” a source told OK Magazine.

The pair are believed to be planning not to ask King Charles for his help, despite recent claims that the monarch hopes to “reunite” with the pair.

“They won’t be asking the King for a property on the royal estate due to the issue that arose with Frogmore Cottage. Making use of a small apartment in Kensington Palace from time to time isn’t out of the question, but when it comes to a home in the UK, they will purchase that themselves,” added the source.