Why Meghan Markle 'threw a cup of tea into the air' during 'miserable' relationship

It's no secret that Meghan Markle's time as a working royal was marred by difficulty, as she struggled to accept the formalities and rigid structures of the monarchy.

In January 2020, less than two years after their much-celebrated wedding, the Sussexes abruptly stepped down as working royals, and relocated to California. Ever since the bombshell move, the couple have been locked in a sad feud with Prince Harry's family, after making numerous swipes against the royals in interviews, TV shows and the Duke's memoir, Spare.

And a royal author has shed light on the tense reality behind closed doors when Meghan and Harry operated as full-time royals. Tom Bower claims that behind the picture-perfect image the Sussexes potrayed on royal tours and at events, the mood amongst staff was 'miserable'. It comes as Meghan's 'inappropriate' living request 'firmly denied' by late Queen.

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In his explosive book titled Revenge, Bower alleges that Meghan was accused of "abrasive" behaviour towards staff members and diplomats.

Looking back at the Sussexes visit to Sydney, Australia, where they received an amazing reception, he writes: "Meghan was allegedly abrasive towards her four female staff and even towards the local British diplomats.

"According to one report, Meghan allegedly threw a cup of tea into the air. Her anger may have been partly fuelled by Harry.

"Every night he trawled social media, searching for snide comments on the internet. Every morning he and Meghan turned on their phones to surf the internet."

Lawyers on behalf of Meghan have repeatedly denied that she bullied palace staff or aides.

It comes as another writer claims that the Duchess thought the royals "behaved like babies". According to insiders, Meghan found it hard to get her head around the many protocols and traditions associated with The Firm - and she had a scathing assessment of the senior members.

In his latest book, Yes Ma'am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants, author Tom Quinn reveals what Meghan allegedly made of her new situation.

He writes: "Meghan really disliked the hierarchy', a member of her former team said. 'Many of the rules do seem pretty pointless and exist only so that the relative status of each senior royal is protected.

"And the senior royals are such a sensitive bunch — if one gets a gold pen or a new car, they all want one. Meghan thought they behaved like babies.'"

Meghan and Harry discussed her introduction to royal life in their six-part Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, and recalled Meghan's first meeting with the Queen after they began dating in 2016.

"My grandmother was the first senior member of the family that Meghan met," Prince Harry said in the show. "She had no idea what it all consisted of. So it was a bit of a shock to the system for her."

Meghan then shared that while they were on their way to meet the Queen, Prince Harry asked her if she knew how to curtsy. "We were in the car, driving and he's like: 'You know how to curtsy right?' and I just thought it was a joke," the duchess admitted.

Prince Harry acknowledged the difficulty of explaining royal protocol to his American girlfriend, saying: "How do you explain that to people? How do you explain that you bow to your grandmother? And that you would need to curtsy, especially to an American. That's weird."

Meghan also compared curtsying to Medieval Times, Dinner and Tournament, a dinner theatre featuring medieval-style games, and joked that "Americans will understand this".

She then recreated the deep curtsy she gave to the Queen, bowing her head dramatically and spreading her arms wide. "It was like that. Like, I curtsied as though I was like…Pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty," she said. However, her reenactment drew some criticism from viewers who claimed that the duchess was being “disrespectful” towards tradition.