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Before marrying into the royal family in 2018, Meghan Markle had already experienced being in the spotlight as an actress, having starred in the series Suits. But it’s hard to compare that with marrying into The Firm, and it sounds like once she figured out what being royal would truly entail, it wasn’t that the Duchess of Sussex couldn’t hack it — it’s that she reportedly decided she didn’t want to.

Meghan was set up to succeed from the start.

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According to what Matt Wilkinson, royal editor at The Sun, said at a live Royal Exclusive show, Meghan was given “so many opportunities” to thrive as a royal.

“They gave her staff, a house, paid for her wedding, gave her patronages, and made her a Commonwealth Trust ambassador,” he said, adding, “I think they gave her everything they could, I don’t think they could have given her any more, but in the end, she just didn’t fancy it.”

Another expert agreed that Meghan simply decided she didn’t want to be royal.

Royal photographer Arthur Edwards said that despite the fact that Meghan was “unbelievably brilliant” in her first year as a royal, she wasn’t enjoying the gig.

“I don’t think she needed any briefing. She was a very wise lady and knew exactly what was required of her, and she did it,” Arthur said. “But then, she decided she didn’t want to do it anymore, and that was it.”

She may not have fully understood the scope of what it means to be royal.

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Jennie Bond, who was once a royal correspondent at the BBC, said that she didn’t believe Meghan was properly “nurtured” into the role, despite being given all of those opportunities.

“I think she didn’t really know what she was getting into, and I believe that’s why William was absolutely correct to warn Harry, or suggest to Harry, that he took it a little more slowly and give it more time,” she said.

In that respect, Jennie said that Kate Middleton had been given a leg up.

Considering the fact that Will and Kate had been together for more than a decade when they finally tied the knot, Kate had an inside look at what being a royal was really like before she decided to marry into the family — something that Meghan didn’t have, given her short courtship with Harry.

“William was so wise to give Catherine ten years to look in that ‘goldfish bowl’ and think ‘can I hack it,’” Jennie said.

Jennie believes Meghan may have changed her mind about marrying Harry if they dated longer before tying the knot.

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Jennie said that Meghan found out she “didn’t like having her wings clipped” after she’d already become a royal, but if she’d realized that ahead of the marriage, she may have been less willing to hand over her independence.

“Meghan was fantastic. She could have been such a credit to the royal family,” Jennie said. “She was an independent, forthright woman with her own career, her own thoughts, charities, and causes. She could have been exactly what a modern monarchy needs. But I think the monarchy, as I’ve said earlier, didn’t act as carefully as they should have done in nurturing what they could have had.”

In the end, Meghan and Harry walked away together, but it’s interesting to think of where Harry would be today if he and Meghan had never gotten married.