The Duchess of Sussex has revealed she found the British citizenship test “so hard” and even the Duke of Sussex had “no idea” of some of the answers.
The American-born actress spoke about studying for the Life in the UK test on the latest episode of her Archetypes podcast.
Meghan said she turned to Harry for help while practicing for the official government quiz, but she also appeared to suggest the British-born duke – who is fifth in line to the throne – was also stuck on the questions.
When Meghan’s engagement to Harry was confirmed in 2017, Buckingham Palace announced that the former Suits star would become a British citizen.
But the Sussexes quit the working monarchy in 2020 and moved to the US, amid reports Meghan had abandoned the process of seeking citizenship.
Chatting to actress and director Pamela Adlon, who recently became a British citizen, Meghan said: “That citizenship exam is so hard. I was studying for it and I remember going ‘Oh my goodness’.
“I would ask my husband ‘Did you know this? Did you know this?’ and people went ‘Oh, I had no idea’.”
Adlon, best known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy show King Of The Hill, joked: “I think they made it harder for you. They were like ‘We’re gonna really throw up walls on this one’.”
Meghan laughed and said, “You think?”
The Duchess also chatted with her “dear friend” Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, the First Lady of Canada – wife of the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Meghan spoke about how they spent time together in the summer with their children, and how she bought an “inflatable pizza slice” pool float online which proved to be a “big hit”.
“This wasn’t our day of being the wives and moms, all perfectly quaffed with up dos and pearls and demure smiles,” the duchess said.
“This was the other version of us, both with wild curly hair and swimsuits and loose linen and huge belly laughs, big cuddles with our little ones and quiet whispers of girl talk on the terrace, giddy like absolute school girls.
“We were just having so much fun.”
Meghan described the episode called Good Wife/Bad Wife, Good Mom/Bad Mom as digging into the roles women play on the home front and looking at how to “break out of the limiting version of these moulds society has carved out for us”.
The Life in the UK test costs £50, lasts for 45 minutes and features 24 multiple choice questions about British traditions and customs.
The score needed to pass is 75% – 18 out of 24.
The test can be rebooked an unlimited number of times, but applicants must pay each time.
Example questions include which King was executed in 1649 and who establised the Church of England.
Meghan also spoke about her family’s “whirlwind” morning routine and how she makes breakfast for Harry, Archie and Lilibet every day, saying it is important to her and she loves doing it.
The Duchess said: “Lili has just started walking. she’s a year and a couple months old, and Archie’s just over three years old, so …I’m in the thick of it. Toddling.”
She went on: “So the morning rush – I’m sure it’ll only get more chaotic as they get older.
“But for me, it’s, you know, both monitors on for the kids to hear them, always up with Lili, get her downstairs, then a half hour later Archie’s up.
“Start doing his lunch box right before he’s up, while I have her, getting her a little nibble.
“My husband’s helping me get him downstairs. I make breakfast for all three of them. It’s very important to me. I love doing it.
“For me it’s just feels like the greatest way to start the morning. And then it’s like, feed all three of the dogs because we just got another dog and then get Archie out the door to school and, you know, but it does, it feels like a whirlwind.”
Adlon asked of Harry: “I hope daddy’s being a good contributor?”
Meghan replied: “Oh my husband, oh he’s great. I mean, to do this as a single mom, I like bow down to you.”
The Duchess went on: “Why is it still so judgmental and hard out there? And why — there’s an expectation for it to look so easy for some? – just so put together…can we just all be real?”
Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland also featured in the podcast for the first time, with a recording of her FaceTiming while the Duchess was working on the episode.
Meghan greets her with “Hey Mommy” and Ms Ragland can be heard saying “Hey. How’s my girl?”.
The Duchess replies: “I’m okay. I’m hanging in there. It’s okay. I’m recording right now. Do you want to see?”
As they chat, Ms Ragland says: “You have on a smiley face.”
The pair tell each other they love one another and Meghan’s mother signs off by clicking her fingers in a “cool handshake” the Duchess taught her when she was eight, which Meghan describes as “snap, scissors, cut, chicken wing”.
