Princess Anne Allegedly Knew Meghan Markle Had 'Short Shelf Life' In Monarchy: Royal Commentator

Princess Anne allegedly once gave Meghan Markle words of wisdom that left the Duchess of Sussex "dumbfounded," a royal expert has claimed.

Neil Sean, a royal commentator and reporter who has been featured on Fox News, Sky News Australia, NBC News and other outlets, claimed on his YouTube channel that Markle "sought out" Queen Elizabeth II's only daughter after she married Prince Harry and joined the royal family. International Business Times could not independently verify his claims.

The royal expert, citing an unnamed insider, claimed that during their alleged conversation, Markle received "sage advice" from the Princess Royal, whom Sean said he has "met on many occasions," worked with and interviewed in the past.

Markle reportedly left her encounter with Princess Anne "absolutely dumbfounded" after the senior royal pointed out that the "Suits" alum took on "a job" when she joined the Firm, Sean claimed.

According to Sean's source, Princess Anne reiterated this mantra, "You turn up and you do the job. You turn up on time, be respectful, do your research, look interested in people and try to find out exactly what the project is or the charity that you are associated with. It's not about the clothes, the hairstyle, all the front pages. It's solely about the project in hand, whatever you're dealing with."

Princess Anne reportedly also pointed out to Markle that she needed to get involved with the charities she was associated with and give them the advice and the profile that they needed, according to Sean's source.

Sean noted that Princess Anne has historically been seen as the hardest-working royal thanks to her busy work calendar. She reportedly carried out 368 official engagements last year, beating Prince Charles' 360. In 2017 alone, the princess carried out 455 official appearances at events, dinners and receptions at home, with an additional 85 engagements overseas, U.K.'s The Times reported.

"According to a good source, Meghan failed, in her eyes, to warm to Princess Anne," Sean claimed. "More importantly, Princess Anne knew that Meghan would have a very short shelf life on the world stage of the British monarchy."

Prince Harry and Markle officially stepped back from their roles as senior working royals and carried out their final royal duties in March 2020, nearly two years after they tied the knot. The couple left the U.K. and settled in California, where they now live with their two children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet.

In April 2020, Princess Anne shared some words of wisdom for the "younger generation" of royals.

"I don't think the younger generation probably understands what I was doing in the past and it’s often true, isn't it? You don't necessarily look at the previous generation and say, 'Oh, you did that?' or 'You went there?'" she told Vanity Fair at the time. "Nowadays, they’re much more looking for, 'Oh let's do it a new way.' And I'm already at the stage [of], 'Please do not reinvent that particular wheel. We’ve been there, done that.' Some of these things don't work. You may need to go back to basics."

One year later, Princess Anne was bumped up on the list of British royal family members on the royal family's website, seemingly taking Prince Harry and Markle's place after their royal exit, according to Us Weekly.

After they made their royal departure permanent in February 2021, Queen Elizabeth stripped the couple of their royal patronages and Prince Harry's military appointments.