Meghan Markle refused royal mentoring from Sophie Wessex and ‘made it clear’ she only needed Harry’s guidance, claims royal book

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published 22 January 2023

According to a new royal book, Meghan Markle refused the late Queen's offer of a royal mentor, set to be Sophie Wessex, with Meghan claiming she only needed guidance from Prince Harry.

A royal book has claimed that when Meghan Markle was offered royal mentoring from Sophie Wessex, she "made it clear" she would only rely on her new husband for guidance.
Just like Meghan, Sophie Wessex has previously spoken candidly about how it took her "a while to find her feet" after transitioning from a successful career in PR to being a full-time royal.
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It has become an unavoidable fact that navigating public life after marrying into the Royal Family can often be a tough task. As well as the now infamous stories of Meghan Markle and Princess Diana, Sophie Wessex, the wife of the late Queen's youngest son Prince Edward, too struggled through the change.

Before she became known as the Royal Family's secret weapon, Sophie previously spoke out, saying it "took her a while to find her feet" after transitioning from her a successful career in PR to becoming a full-time royal.

So when it was announced that Meghan Markle would be marrying Prince Harry and therefore joining the Royal Family, the late Queen suggested that Sophie mentor the actress and help her navigate this new life, drawing on her own experiences of the transition.

But, according to a new royal book, Meghan did not like the mentoring idea and "made it clear" that she did not need Sophie's help. She reportedly said that she would instead rely on her new husband and pledged to "hit the ground running" when she became a working royal.

Royal author and friend of the royals, Gyles Brandreth, detailed the failed mentorship in his new book, Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait. He explained, "The Queen (who, of course, had seen it all before) understood that Harry's girl might find adjusting to Royal life 'challenging to begin with' (as she put it). 'It is very jolty, but you soon get used to it' – that was Her Majesty's experience going back many years.

"To help Meghan, the Queen suggested that her daughter-in-law, Sophie Wessex, would be an ideal mentor. 'Sophie can help show you the ropes,' said the Queen. Meghan made it clear that she did not feel she needed Sophie's help. She had Harry."

But thankfully it appears there was no bad blood over the turned down mentorship. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Sophie compared her experiences to Meghan's, making it clear she felt sympathy for her new relative.

Speaking to the paper, she said, "Remember I’d had five years to adjust [to royal life]. And for our six-month engagement, I was even staying at Buckingham Palace."

Commenting briefly on their exit from the firm, she said, "I just hope they will be happy.”

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Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is a news writer for Goodtoknow, specialising in family content. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.