Moment Meghan Markle acknowledges ‘Duchess Difficult’ nickname in candid chat

Meghan Markle seemed to hint at a very unflattering nickname as she made a ‘veiled’ swipe at her life in the Royal Family before stepping down.The Sussexes, who quit life as working royals in 2020, joined forces with Netflix soon after their shocking departure. They also teamed up with Spotify, signing a lucrative $25million (£19million) deal with the giant streaming service.

However, the partnership with Spotify came to an abrupt and sudden end last year after the couple produced just a few episodes of one standalone podcast, Archetypes, which was hosted by Meghan.

The 12-episode series, which saw the Sussexes branded as “grifters”, saw Meghan chat with different celebrity pals, including tennis icon Serena Williams, legendary singer Mariah Carey, and socialite Paris Hilton.

In one episode, Meghan was in conversation with Mellody Hobson, a businesswoman, and Victoria Jackson, when she seemed to make reference to one of her unflattering nicknames – ‘Duchess Difficult’.

“I was just chatting with my girlfriends recently and I was asking them for the show, what sort of archetypes you think we should discuss and almost immediately unequivocally they all jump to difficult,” she said. “That’s the word you have to talk about, ‘difficult’.”

Meghan ended her Spotify podcast in her final episode of the series by again hinting at her former nickname, as she touched on “labels that try to hold women back”, according to reports.

The name ‘Duchess Difficult’ came to light after it was alleged that, as a senior working member of the Royal Family, Meghan would send “demanding” emails early in the morning to her staff. In 2018 it was claimed that she would “email her staff instructions as early as 5am”.

Phil Dampier, a royal expert, and biographer, branded Meghan “clever” for the “veiled reference to the restrictions in the Royal Family”. Speaking to The Sun, he said: “It’s a clever way of doing it because she’s not directly saying something but people can still read into it what they like. Then if anyone takes offence she can say, ‘Oh I didn’t mean it like that’.”

The nickname resurfaced again earlier this year following claims she “terrifies” and “belittles” people around her.

A source told the Hollywood Reporter: “Meghan belittles people, she doesn’t take advice.” They further described the Sussexes as “both poor decision-makers” who “change their minds frequently”.

Harry was called “a very, very charming person” but “very much an enabler”. But the report alleged Meghan is “absolutely relentless” and “marches around like a dictator in high heels”. One source claimed: “I’ve watched her reduce grown men to tears”.

The piece also investigated the high turnover of Sussex staff, including chief of staff Josh Kettler who quit in August after just three months.