During an in-depth interview, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, revealed that she has ‘really made an active effort’ to heal relations and find forgiveness for the Royal Family

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 family over the years, forgiveness was still possible. The Duchess replied “I think forgiveness is really important. It takes a lot more energy to not forgive…But it takes a lot of effort to forgive. I’ve really made an active effort, especially knowing that I can say anything”.

She also said that there were no practical blockages getting in the way of her voicing her opinions about her experiences: “It’s interesting, I’ve never had to sign anything that restricts me from talking…I can talk about my whole experience and make a choice not to,” and later in the interview noted, “I have a lot to say until I don’t. Do you like that? Sometimes, as they say, the silent part is still part of the song.” Elsewhere in the interview, Meghan revealed that she had packed up her UK home of Frogmore Cottage whilst visiting the country for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, a weekend of celebration that coincided with Princess Lilibet’s first birthday.