Meghan Markle was inspired by Princess Diana as a teenager - royal biographer
MEGHAN MARKLE was inspired by Princess Diana as a teenager to “help the less fortunate”, a royal biographer has claimed.
Meghan Markle is 'MANIPULATING' Prince Harry says expert
Princess Diana tragically died in a car crash on in Paris in 1997, when two sons Princes William and Harry were aged 15 and 12 respectively. The world mourned over the much-loved royal, who was also known as the “People’s Princess” due to her charity work. She also spent hours talking to people and listening to their stories during her many visits to hospitals, schools and fundraising galas.
Diana found the media’s intrusion into her personal life “intolerable”, but said the only positive was that it could bring attention to the people and the causes that needed it most.
And her charity work was said to have inspired Prince Harry’s future wife Meghan Markle while she was growing up in California.
Writing in Harry: Conversations with the Prince, Angela Levin said: “The teenage Meghan felt strongly about helping the less fortunate, something a friend believed was inspired by the Princess of Wales.
“’She always admired Princess Diana’s good deed,’ she recalled.
“‘I went with her to schools where there were less fortunate kids.
“‘Meghan would collect toys, gifts and clothes for then.’”
Meghan’s mother Doria also made sure her daughter appreciated everything she had, as not everyone was so lucky.
Ms Levin said: “Doria and Megan’s grandmother Jeanette, a woman born into poverty in Cleveland Ohio, had clear ideas on how to bring up Meghan, who they called ‘Flower’.
“In common with Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, Doria wanted her to be aware of the raw realities of life.
“It is something that Meghan appreciates: ‘My mother raised me to be a global citizen with eyes open to sometimes harsh realities.
“I must have been about 10-years-old when we visited the slums of Jamaica. I had never seen poverty at that level and it registered in my glazed brown eyes.’”
Meghan’s charitable side was said to be one of the main reasons why Harry fell in love with her after they were set up on a blind date in 2016.
Ms Levin said: “The woman who stole his heart was utterly unlike the long line of blondes he had been chasing since he was a teenager.
“Nor did she fit the prototype of a British royal consort.
“Meghan’s bloodline is not at all regal, but has nonetheless given her strong values that may help her understand the customs and traditions of the British Royal Family.
“She has a lot in common with Harry.”