Princess Kate and William once 'ornamental royals' but Meghan hailed as 'breakout star'
One royal commentator has claimed that Princess Kate and Prince William had to 'up their game' once Meghan Markle started getting all the royal attention.
Prince Harry talks Royal Foundation goals at 2018 forum
There came a moment in 2018 when Princess Kate and Prince William realised Meghan Markle's "honed skills" could make her a serious contender for most popular royal.
Not long before Meghan married Prince Harry, the 'Fab Four' as they were once dubbed appeared at the Royal Foundation Forum to promote their mental health campaign Heads Together.
Already established in Hollywood as a successful actress on the Netflix series Suits, Meghan was praised as being "polished, passionate and funny" at the event.
Royal author Katie Nicholl wrote in her book The New Royals that the Prince and Princess of Wales understood they would need to "up their game" if they wanted to stay relevant.
She said: "It was, according to one aide, the moment William and Kate, who was heavily pregnant, realised they needed to up their game.
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"The then-Cambridges [as they were better known at the time] had already signaled their intention to be more than ‘ornamental royals’ and had, along with Harry, made a huge success of their mental health campaign Heads Together.
"But Meghan was the breakout star of the foursome. She was polished, passionate and funny, using all her TV-honed skills to present her case.
"That was a wake-up moment for William and Kate when they realised that Meghan was very impressive, very confident and very capable, according to a source."
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The event at the Royal Foundation Forum in February 2018, while Kate was pregnant with Prince Louis, showcased the charitable programmes run or started by the Royal Foundation.
However, almost six years on Harry and Meghan now have their own charitable foundation in the form of Archewell, having departed from royal life in January 2020.
Transitioning into royal life was a struggle for Meghan, who was already established as a successful TV actor in the US when she met Harry in 2016.
Now living back in her home state of California with Harry and their two young children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, Meghan has no desire to return to the UK, even if her husband feels a little homesick.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Express.co.uk: "It does seem unlikely that Meghan will be visiting Britain any time soon. The same, in the short term anyway, applies to Archie and Lili."
He added: "I see no substance to the rumour that Harry will split his time between the United States and Britain. He has serious concerns about security and still has a case pending against the Home Office regarding this which is awaiting trial."
