Meghan Markle appears to have taken fresh aim at the Royal Family with a cutting remark about the "expectations" of children Archie and Lilibet. In an extensive new interview with Variety magazine, the Duchess of Sussex spoke openly on several topics, including her podcast Archetypes, the Queen's death and if she would ever go back to acting.
She also discussed her new Netflix docuseries with Prince Harry, which follows their lives in Montecito, California, and gave advice to actresses who may play her on screen in the future. However, when asked how she would feel about either of her children pursuing a career in Hollywood, she replied with a cryptic comment about family tradition and expectations, the Mirror reports.
She said that either of her youngsters announced their desire to work in the entertainment industry, she would say: "'Great!’", adding "When you become a parent, you genuinely want your kids to find the things that bring them complete joy."
But she added: "They’re our kids, obviously, and they’re part of a legacy and a tradition and a family that will have other expectations. But I want them to be able to carve out their own path. If it’s the entertainment industry, great. And also, good luck.
"There are so many people that will talk about what opened the door for my children. But it still takes talent and a lot of grit. We’re creating multi-dimensional, interesting, kind, creative people. That's who our kids are."
Elsewhere in the interview, Meghan opened up about the Queen's death for the first time, admitting it was a "complicated time" for the family, while also sharing Prince Harry's emotional remark about his grandmother's death. Speaking for a cover story in the latest edition of the magazine, she also reflected on the time she spent with the monarch, who died on September 8, and revealed how the royal family are coping with the loss.
She says: "There’s been such an outpouring of love and support. I’m really grateful that I was able to be with my husband to support him, especially during that time.
"What’s so beautiful is to look at the legacy that his grandmother was able to leave on so many fronts. Certainly, in terms of female leadership, she is the most shining example of what that looks like.
"I feel deep gratitude to have been able to spend time with her and get to know her. It’s been a complicated time, but my husband, ever the optimist, said, ‘Now she’s reunited with her husband'.
“I’ve reflected on that first official engagement that I had with her, how special that felt. I feel fortunate. And I continue to be proud to have had a nice warmth with the matriarch of the family.”
Meghan also used the interview to discuss a series of other big topics, including her controversial sit down with Oprah Winfrey in which she said she had suicidal thoughts during her time in the royal family and claimed her sister-in-law Kate made her cry.
She also explains that both her and Harry work from home in a shared office, describing them as "commuters" who need to drive for two hours for meetings in LA.
Meghan adds: "We do a lot of joint calls and Zooms, but also try to divide what we can focus our energies on so we can accomplish even more. My husband is on a 24-hour time zone, where half of your life is waking up as the other half is going to sleep. It’s kind of the reverse of what I went through living in the UK.
"He’s very good at responding on text. Me, I try to be as fast as possible on email. I’ve always said, if it takes less than five minutes, do it now."
She also reveals she loves chocolate chip cookies "the size of her toddlers' head" to get her through a day of back-to-back meetings, and says Harry's favourite takeaway is burger chain In-N-Out, adding: "There’s one at the halfway point between L.A. and our neck of the woods. It’s really fun to go through the drive-thru and surprise them. They know our order."
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