Why Meghan Markle’s tough treatment echoes that of Fergie

She’s been dubbed “Duchess Difficult” and put under intense scrutiny — Meghan Markle’s treatment echoes another controversial royal.

Meghan Markle, who has been dubbed “Duchess Difficult” by some media outlets for her allegedly notorious feuds in recent months, apparently has a head-scratching new moniker.

According to the British magazine Tatler, some members of the royal staff at Kensington Palace are now starting to call the Duchess of Sussex “Me-Gain”, though it didn’t elaborate further.

David Jenkins, the senior editor at the UK high society magazine, claimed in a spread detailing Meghan’s life post-royal wedding this week that a source who “has connections with Kensington Palace” said the 37-year-old was “trouble”. However, he admitted the royal is essentially “damned if she does, and she’s damned if she doesn’t”.

Meghan has been dubbed ‘Duchess Difficult’ by some quarters. Picture: Trevor Adams / Matrixpictures.co.uk

He compared Meghan’s harsh media coverage to that of Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, when she married Prince Andrew.

“When she married Prince Andrew, the Queen’s second son, she, like Meghan, was heralded as a breath of fresh air, a fun-filled redhead who’d blow the cobwebs off the monarchy. In the end, Lord Charteris of Amisfield, one-time private secretary to the Queen, declared, ‘She is vulgar, vulgar, vulgar, and that is that’,” Jenkins wrote, noting Meghan has “seen nothing like that”.

In response to the report, former Kensington Palace press secretary Dickie Arbiter told Nine that Prince Harry “would be angry that something like this is coming out”, according to The Sun.

“He will be angry, he will be upset, he will want to keep his head down and he will want to protect Meghan,” Arbiter added.

This isn’t the first time Meghan has been accused of disgruntling royal staff. Several staff members have quit since Meghan joined the royal family.

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, faced similarly tough treatment when she entered the royal family.

In November 2018, Meghan’s personal assistant, Melissa Touabti, resigned after six months after allegedly being “reduced to tears” by the Duchess’ demands, according to The Mirror. A source told the British publication at the time the position “became too much” and Ms Touabti couldn’t handle the pressure. Months later, in January, it was reported Meghan’s personal protection officer was leaving her position after working for Meghan for just six months.

The expecting royal’s assistant private secretary, Amy Pickerill, is quitting after the birth of Meghan and Prince Harry’s royal baby in April, People reported in early March. A source told the magazine the resignation was “amicable” and the pair would “stay in touch”.

Some outlets — such as Insider — are disputing that Meghan’s being called “Me-Gain” by staff, saying a royal source told them the report was “completely untrue”.

Royal expert Robert Jobson has suggested in the past Prince Harry may be making things more difficult for his bride.

Rumours are rife of a feud between Meghan (left) and Kate Middleton. Picture: Kirsty Wigglesworth / Pool / AFP

“I think that most of the stories that have been written about them are probably true otherwise Kensington Palace would have come down on them like a (ton) of bricks,” Mr Jobson told Yahoo! News’ Royal Box in July when Meghan came under fire for allegedly choosing a tiara that Queen Elizabeth II didn’t approve. “I think most of it’s probably true.”

“I don’t think Meghan was being difficult when she was picking out a tiara, I think Harry was probably being overly defensive and overly protective,” Jobson argued at the time.

Kensington Palace has previously denied reports Meghan has a tense relationship with royal staff, The Sun reports.

This story originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission