When Meghan Markle married Prince Harry and officially became the Duchess of Sussex she was already established within public life, as a successful actress. However, she has admitted since that she was not entirely prepared for how intense the spotlight the Royal Family lives within would be, and has been candid about the fact that she struggled with mental health issues and suicidal thoughts whilst a working royal. This led to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex realising that they needed to make a change and that operating as full-time, tax-payer-funded representatives of the crown wasn't suitable for their young family.
Whilst the couple initially hoped that they would be able to continue to be working royals on a part-time basis, the late Queen Elizabeth deemed this model impossible and they made a full break from the House of Windsor. Since then, relations have been strained between the Sussexes and some of the other senior royals, with Meghan and Harry's candour about the issues they faced inside the monarchy and allegations levied at Queen Camilla and Prince William amongst others reportedly becoming points of contention . However, in a wide-ranging interview, Meghan opened up about the importance of "forgiveness" and explained that she had made "an active effort" in this regard toward her royal in-laws.
Speaking to The Cut magazine in 2022, when she was promoting her podcast Archetypes, Meghan was asked if, despite everything that had gone on with the Windsors and her own .