Prince Harry has been very open and honest about the struggles he and his wife Meghan Markle faced due to the press in the lead-up to their royal wedding in 2018. He was paranoid he was going to "lose" the love of his life due to the pressure, and he went to extreme lengths to minimise negative press coverage - admitting to setting out a very strict rule for Meghan ahead of a solo trip she took.
When Meghan travelled to India, the Duke of Sussex warned her not to have a picture in front of the Taj Mahal under any circumstances, despite it being the most significant landmark in the country. He revealed his instructions in his memoir, Spare: "On the subject of India: we laughed about the advice I’d given Meg before she’d left: 'Do not take a photo in front of the Taj Mahal'.
© Photo: Netflix"She’d asked why, and I’d said: 'My mum'. I’d explained that my mother had posed for a photo there, and it had become iconic, and I didn’t want anyone thinking Meg was trying to mimic my mother. Meg had never heard of this photo, and found the whole thing baffling, and I loved her for being baffled."
Princess Diana's iconic Taj Mahal photo
The reason the photograph of Princess Diana sitting solo in front of the Taj Mahal in 1992 gained so much traction the world over was because that trip was a joint one for Charles and Diana but the then-Prince left Diana alone for the visit. As she sat poised on a bench outside, she looked contemplatively at the camera, and some would say this marked the end of their marriage as they announced their split 10 months later.
Despite Harry not wanting his wife to be compared to his late mother too much, many comment that she has stand-out qualities that are just like the late Princess Diana's. Both being strong women who aren't afraid to challenge the "norm" of the monarchy, both supporting humanitarian causes with compassion and also both being flawless fashion icons.
Meghan Markle's future within the royal family
Prince Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior royals in 2020, and in the same year they relocated overseas to Montecito in the US. After years of tension within the royal family and only a handful of visits back to the UK, earlier this month there appeared to be a breakthrough for royal relations.
While the Duke was in the UK for his Invictus Games countdown event, he decided to use the opportunity to fly his wife and children in to see King Charles for a private meeting. Harry was joined by his wife, Meghan Markle, and the pair's two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet for a visit to Highgrove, Charles' countryside residence. Queen Camilla was also present and no details of the meet-up have been released. It's the first time Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, have seen their grandfather since the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022.
