Meghan’s royal arrival created ‘casualty’ of celeb lifestyle: ‘Big deals in pipeline’

MEGHAN MARKLE had to change her life significantly when she joined the Royal Family – and the “first casualty” was a large commercial contract, even though she had “big deals in the pipeline”, her biographer claimed.

Meghan and Prince Harry took part in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, which ITV aired last week in the UK. The two claimed they were “trapped” within the system of monarchy, and Meghan emphasised how she felt her freedoms had been taken away from her as a senior royal. She was an established actor on the US series ‘Suits’ and a UN Ambassador for Gender Equality with her own lifestyle blog before joining the Royal Family.

Her biographer Sean Smith noted that she had to start stripping back the parts of her life which were incompatible with her future as a royal with Harry.

He wrote: “One of the first casualties was her commercial contract with Kruger Cowne.”

This is a talent agency Meghan joined in 2015, and quit in late 2017.

Mr Smith continued: “She sent a message to Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne explaining the situation — it was a disappointment because there were some big deals in the pipeline for her but one of the taboos for the Royal Family is endorsement.

“You can wear a designer’s dress and look sensational but you can’t say how much you love it because it would give an unfair commercial advantage.

“It will sell out anyway, of course.”

Meghan then did not renew her contract with Reitmans, Canada’s largest women’s retailer, after honouring her commitments to their winter collection.

Mr Smith recalled: “They parted on good terms and the company was gracious about it, declaring, ‘she was a great partner’.”

But he noted one of the largest “wrenches” was the closure of her beloved lifestyle blog, The Tig, in April 2017 — seven months before her engagement to Harry was announced.

This closure also took place less than a year after Meghan and Harry first met.

Writing in ‘Meghan Misunderstood’, Mr Smith explained: “She had already stopped posting on Twitter and Instagram and now she said goodbye to her much-loved online site.”

Her final message read: “After close to three beautiful years on this adventure with you, it’s time to say goodbye to The Tig.”

Meghan’s previous comments suggest that, until she contemplated her future as a royal, she intended to juggle her celebrity and humanitarian work side-by-side.

At the end of 2016, Vanity Fair quoted Meghan from the One Young World Summit where she suggested she could balance the different aspects of her life well.

She said: “My life shifts from refugee camps to red carpets.

“I choose them both because these worlds can in fact co-exist.

“I’ve never wanted to be a lady who lunches — I’ve always wanted to be a woman who works.”

However, being a royal means taking an apolitical stance constantly and putting the Firm above all else.

In her interview with Oprah, Meghan explained how this left her feeling as though she had no voice.

She said: “I’ve always worked. I’ve always valued independence.

“I’ve always been outspoken, especially about women’s rights.

“I mean that’s the sad irony of the last four years… I’ve advocated for so long for women to use their voice, and then I was silent.”

The Duchess of Sussex added that when she joined the royals, “that was the last time, until we came here, that I saw my passport, my driver’s licence, my keys”.

The bombshell interview was the couple’s first since their dramatic exit from the royal frontline last March.

However, this is not the first indication that the Duchess felt she was unfairly treated within the royal fold. According to the biography ‘Finding Freedom’, she told a friend: “I gave up my entire life for this family.