Meghan Markle’s 2017 ‘Vanity Fair’ Interview Hinted That She Was Going To Be a Royal Game-Changer

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Meghan Markle‘s 2017 Vanity Fair interview ahead of her engagement should have been a sign that the Suits star was going to be a game-changer for the royal family. The actress was the perfect way for the palace to usher in a modern look, but they were stuck in their old-school royal protocols to understand what Meghan represented to many people.

The cover of the magazine proclaimed, “She’s Just Wild About Harry!” with a stunning, close-up snapshot of the future Duchess of Sussex. Still, it’s her reserved, but insightful, look at their blossoming romance that had royalists clutching their pearls.

“We’re a couple,” she told the magazine. “We’re in love. I’m sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time. This is for us. It’s part of what makes it so special, that it’s just ours. But we’re happy. Personally, I love a great love story.”

Well, according to the Daily Mail, Meghan was supposed to steer clear of three topics: “racial politics, new president Donald Trump but most importantly of all – her increasingly serious relationship with Prince Harry.” Of course, she talked about Harry because the writer was going to ask her about him — and it was the reason she got the cover story. There is no way she could avoid the topic, but that isn’t enough for the U.K. press even seven years later. 

Tom Bower, author of Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and the War Between the Windsors and frequent Sussex critic, told the media outlet that the palace was reportedly less than thrilled with her openness about her Harry relationship. “Like a thunderclap, the interview triggered sensational reactions: Meghan had used her relationship with Harry to promote herself,” he claimed. “The Hollywoodization of the Royal Family had sealed Meghan’s fate as Harry’s fiancée.”

While traditionalists would say Meghan and Harry’s modern approach to leadership wasn’t the right way to do things, there are plenty of people who realize now how important their presence was in the royal family — especially after a year of unfortunate health events in a slimmed-down monarchy. 

“After all of the trashing of Harry this week… trying to blame him [for the rift],” royal expert Tina Brown told the BBC in May. “When I saw him and Meghan in Nigeria, I had a nostalgia. I felt this is what it could have been. These two, who are enormously appealing to the public and who are very good at it, were out there in Nigeria sort of looking really attractive and being appealing people.”

Meghan was never supposed to be Kate Middleton 2.0 — each woman brings something different and powerful to the monarchy, but the royalists couldn’t see the impact the Duchess of Sussex delivered until it was too late.

Before you go, click here to see more of Meghan Markle & Prince Harry’s milestones since leaving the royal family.