Palace insider: ‘Meghan Markle will ‘do a Diana’ and shock everyone’

They’ve been enjoying parental leave and family time with their two-month-old daughter Lilibet and two-year-old son Archie.

But last week, royal biographer and friend of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Omid Scobie, revealed they were gearing up to return to the spotlight and enter “an era of visibility” in terms of their charity work and future projects.

Omid – who co-wrote Harry and Meghan’s biography Finding Freedom last year – explained, “They’re a couple who do very well in those moments of human interaction. They need to be on the ground. They say the proof is in the pudding, and what we are about to see is that pudding.”

And Paul Burrell, who worked as Princess Diana’s butler for 10 years from 1987 until her death in 1997 and first met Harry, 36, when he was just three years old – says Meghan, 40, and Harry are no doubt hoping to follow in Diana’s footsteps.

Paul, 63, says, “It’s about time Harry and Meghan got more ‘hands-on’ with their charity – so far it seems to have just been preaching from their mansion in LA. There’s only so much preaching they can do. I’m sure Meghan will shock the world if what we see next is her being more on the ground with her charity work and in the thick of it, like Diana was.

“Meghan definitely seems to want to follow in Diana’s footsteps, as does Harry. She’ll need to rethink her approach to charity work going forward, though, in order to do so – I suspect she does have a gameplan. Everything is so meticulously thought out with those two!”

Meghan and Harry – who stepped back from their senior royal duties in January 2020 after he revealed the pressure was “destroying” his mental health and left Meghan “suicidal”– have spoken about how they want to make a positive contribution to the world.

In April 2020, they launched a non-profit organisation called Archewell, “to build a better world”, and Harry has also alluded to emulating his mother Princess Diana, who was well-known for her life-changing charity and humanitarian work. In 2016, he said, “All I want to do is make my mother incredibly proud. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

While the multi-millionaire couple – who live in a nine- bedroom mansion – have been hands-on with some charity work and last year volunteered at a soup kitchen and distributed care packages during the pandemic, they have more recently raised awareness for causes with statements and videos.

For her 40th birthday, Meghan launched a charity drive from her office – calling on 40 of her celebrity friends to devote 40 minutes of their time to mentor women trying to return to work after the pandemic.

Check out: 9 times Meghan Markle dressed like Princess Diana

And amid the recent horrors in Afghanistan, Harry – who served two tours of the country in the British Army – and Meghan released a statement last week saying they were “speechless” and “heartbroken” on hearing the news about the Taliban’s advance, and encouraged people to donate to organisations in need.

But they quickly faced a backlash, with some fans describing the message as “hypocritical”, with one writing, “Instead of telling us what to do, how about make out two fat cheques, one for Haiti [where an earthquake killed more than 2,000] and one to aid the people who are lucky enough to get out of Kabul alive?”

And Paul suggests that it is this that sets Meghan apart from Diana – who was renowned for her direct attitude to charity work.

He says, “Diana’s most iconic moments involved her walking through the live minefields in Angola, shaking hands with AIDS patients and touching a person with leprosy. With Diana, it was do as I do – whereas with Meghan it seems to be do as I say. That’s where they’re very different.

“I don’t want to condemn Meghan because it is positive that she wants to shine a light on charities and those in need. Whereas Diana was a listener – she wasn’t the main event, the spotlight was always shone on the cause, rather than her. I think the public need to see her doing some charity work, really listening to who she’s talking to and giving back.

“There was a selflessness and compassion with Diana – Diana wasn’t a Hollywood actress, she was just someone who wanted to use her platform to do good. It is great Meghan is using her voice, but there needs to be intent, action and selflessness for her to do good in the world and be believed.”

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And referring to the recent release of satirical cartoon The Prince – which mocks the royal family and has drawn criticism from children’s mental health charities for the way it presents Prince George – Paul adds, “It seems ironic to me that while Meghan and Harry are happy to lend their voices to supporting mental health charities, they can’t seem to speak up and defend their family.

“I’ve seen The Prince and it’s extremely damaging to target a young boy and mock him in the way the cartoonists have done. Prince Harry is said to have viewed the programme ‘with a sense of humour’. I can’t quite believe that – if it were Archie and Lilibet being mocked, I suspect there would be a lawsuit!”