Meghan Markle and Prince Harry started dating in 2016, three years before her beloved television series, Suits, finished its run. One can imagine that dating a member of the royal family can be quite a big challenge. This is especially true when it comes to Markle’s profession, being an actress in a widely known series.

Meghan Markle in SuitsMeghan Markle in Suits | Credit: USA Network

Considering the kind of character that she was playing, one can assume that several parts of her job were frowned upon by the royal family. However, many may not realize that the person she was dating affected more than just her.

During an interview, the showrunner of the series, Aaron Korsh, revealed that the royal family was asking the series to change certain details about Markle’s character.

The Oversight of the Royal Family on Suits

meghan markle suits-2Meghan Markle in Suits | Credit: USA Network

During an in-depth interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Aaron Korsh revealed how Meghan Markle’s relationship with Prince Harry ended up affecting the production of Suits. He confessed that the royal family would weigh in on what should happen in the series, something that was quite uncomfortable for everyone involved.

[the royal family] weighed in on some stuff. Not many things, by the way, but a few things that we wanted to do and couldn’t do, and it was a little irritating.  

Specifically, Korsh revealed that small changes were made to the script and the dialogue of Rachel Zane. Although these weren’t all too significant and almost seemed unnecessary, he found them to be quite “irritating.” Taking an example, Korsh revealed that he wanted to put a family joke into the series.

I remember one was a particular line of dialogue and, look, I’ll just say what the line was. My wife’s family, when they have a topic to discuss that might be sensitive, they use the word, “poppycock.” Let’s say you wanted to do something that you knew your husband didn’t want to do, but you wanted to at least discuss it, and in just discussing it, you wouldn’t hold him to anything he said, you’d be like, “It’s poppycock.” 

After explaining what the origins of the joke were, he revealed that he wanted to add the word “poppycock” to one of Markle’s dialogues. Making a nod to in-laws, he revealed that Mike Ross and Zane’s character were going to have a conversation where she would say these words.

Patrick J. Adams and Meghan Markle in SuitsPatrick J. Adams and Meghan Markle in Suits | Credit: USA Network

So, in the episode, Mike and Rachel [Markle’s character] were going to have a thing, and as a nod to my in-laws, we were going to have her say, “My family would say poppycock.” 

The entire conversation seemed harmless in every way possible. However, it would seem that the royal family did not approve of it.

The Royal Family Was Meticulous

Meghan Markle in SuitsMeghan Markle in Suits | Credit: USA Network

Aaron Korsh further elaborated in the interview that he was contacted by the royal family to remove the line about the “poppycock,” as they did not want her to say it for the world to see. The reason for this was that the word could be cut and used out of context. Although the request was quite bizarre, the showrunner of Suits did end up listening to it.

The royal family did not want her saying the word. They didn’t want to put the word “poppycock” in her mouth. I presume because they didn’t want people cutting things together of her saying “c*ck.”

Korsh revealed that the word was changed to “bullsh*t” and the entire matter was settled. However, he could not help but feel uncomfortable about the entire situation. Since the addition of the word in the series was supposed to be something personal to him, he was very upset that something as simple as one insignificant word was asked to be removed.

So, we had to change it to “bullsh*t” instead of “poppycock,” and I did not like it because I’d told my in-laws that [poppycock] was going to be in the show. There was maybe one or two more things, but I can’t remember. 

The showrunner also added that he was extremely irritated about telling his in-laws about removing it from the series, as he had already raised their expectations by telling them about the addition. While there is no distinctive person to blame, there is no denying that the whole situation made everyone involved uncomfortable.