Long-term Cotswolds resident Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen now counts Harry and Meghan as neighbours, and has offered some neighbourly advice to American Meghan
Meghan Markle could see her popularity soar among Brits if she just started to copy Kate Middleton, it is claimed. Long-term Cotswolds resident Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen now counts Harry and Meghan as neighbours, and has offered some advice following their return to the UK.
The 61-year-old TV star said he thinks the Duchess of Sussex could win back the British public and get them back on board if she just pretends to be a little less like herself and a little bit more like the Princess of Wales.
He said: “William and Kate live a very ordinary lifestyle for royals. Yes, it’s a very schmanzy lifestyle, it’s very Waitrose, but they don’t have the sort of world you would anticipate if you watched the Princess Diaries.
“They don’t even have the opulence you would see Hollywood A-listers having. They take the kids to school, to the rugby fixtures, the flute practise… the ordinary stuff is very part of their lives.
“I think this is the sort of life Harry wants. If Meghan can lean into that and relax a bit, enjoy it and let us appreciate her for who she actually is, rather than who she feels she ought to be, that’s one of the [important] things.
“The thing about Harry is he’s genuine. Sometimes too genuine. That’s why everyone absolutely loved him. When Kate is talking to people, she’s actually really interested in what they are saying… She is not trying to make some sort of point. We don’t see Kate as often as we used to, but when we do, it’s incredibly special.
‘When she smiles at someone, it’s like a floodlight. She is absolutely fixed on who they are and what they are saying and what they’re all about and that’s such an incredibly important part of the new royal mystique.”
He added that while Brits remember Harry as the “Prince of Bants”, we have not seen that side of Meghan yet. The interior designer said: “She is going to have to watch the white jeans, because it’s so muddy here. We need to see muddy Meghan at the tandoori. Just by doing that, she’d seduce the nation.
“They will enjoy being themselves a lot more if they let their hair down and let their freak flag fly. We are very down and dirty here and Harry knows that.
“In this country, we are used to seeing Jeremy Clarkson at the chip shop and Nigella on the bus. Being famous doesn’t stop you from being part of society. As long as she understands that. Being royal doesn’t really protect you from that.”