At the beginning of 2020, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry took a step back from their roles as senior royals, however during their time the pair worked with a number of charities and launched some important projects.
Former Suits actress Meghan has particular interests in helping causes which help mental health, women's rights, animal welfare and bringing communities together - such as the victims of the Grenfell Tower tragedy with the release of a cookbook called ' Together: Our Community Cookbook'.
Charity work is really important to the Duchess of Sussex so many experts were surprised when she decided to step back from the role. According to the Mirror, one author claims that Meghan's limited understanding of how royal life works and her unwillingness to alter her approach, may be part of the reason for her departure from royal life.
'Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors' is Tom Bower's explosive book which suggests that Meghan's unwilling to "learn the ropes" of royal life contributed to them stepping back.
Tom penned that the Royal Family had grown rather frustrated with Markle's approach to royal duties and unlike other members of the family, it was felt that Markle was trying her best to "hit the ground running".
Bower explained: "Kate had become irritated by her neighbour. Unlike her own cautious approach to 'learn the ropes' before engaging in royal duties, Meghan was running — but what was her destination? And who was she running with? Did she realize that the Royal Family ran together under the monarch, not as competitive individuals?"
The Countess of Wessex has a slow and steady approach which is something that royal commentator and author Andrew Morton spoke about on The Mirror 's Pod Save The King podcast.
He explained: "I realised after watching the Catherine for all these years that it takes a long, long time to really understand what it is like to be royal. Catherine Middleton has spent ten, twelve years coming to terms with it. So did Sophie Rhys-Jones and she's got a much lower profile - or did. It just takes a long time to absorb yourself into it.
"Meghan was quite a shy person, so making speeches and being in public was something of an ordeal but I think she's overcome that. She reminds me so much of Diana. She struggled for a few years to come to terms with what it is like to be a princess."
The biographer continued: "The great tragedy, I think, is that Meghan and Harry didn't give it long enough to see whether they could give it a go. They were on the out almost before the wedding music had finished. Meghan's is a natural... she had the great possibility of using her talent and her position to make a genuine change to the world. I don't think she's going to make such a change living in Montecito."
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