Meghan Markle Admitting To Royal Life Struggle Starkly Echoes Princess Diana’s 1995 Interview

Meghan Markle shocked the world when she admitted to some personal struggles with being in the royal spotlight but her late mother-in-law Princess Diana faced some of the same challenges which she detailed in a eye-opening 1995 interview.

“I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair. And that’s the part that’s really hard to reconcile,” the Duchess said of dealing with tabloid rumors and lack of privacy.

Rewind nearly 25 years and it was another member of the Royal family opening up about living life in front of the press—Princess Diana.

In a 1995 interview that came shortly after Diana’s separation from Prince Charles, the Princess sat down with BBC’s Martin Bashir to discuss what her life was like behind closed doors. Just as her future daughter-in-law would, the late Diana spoke about the significance of joining the Royal Family and the media attention that came with it.

WATCH: Prince Harry Renames Hospital In Africa That Princess Diana Once Visited In Her Honor

“The most daunting aspect was the media attention,” Diana told Martin. “It started to focus very much on me, and I seemed to be on the front of a newspaper every single day, which is an isolating experience, and the higher the media put you, place you, is the bigger the drop.”

Of course, the most famous comment to come from the 1995 interview was Diana’s quote, “Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.” This was the first time she spoke publicly about her husband’s affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles. Diana and Charles divorced soon after the interview.

Diana and Meghan also shared similar sentiments about being a new mom in front of the press. Both discussed how vulnerable they felt, and how challenging a time it was for them as women.

“Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging. And then when you have a newborn, you know. And especially as a woman, it’s a lot,” Meghan told Tom Bradby in the ITV News documentary, “Meghan And Harry: An African Journey.”

This quote was followed by a heartbreakingly real moment between the Princess and the TV anchor. When asked if she was okay Meghan responded in part, “Thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m okay, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.”

Diana also opened up in her 1995 interview about the struggles motherhood presented, even discussing her battle with post-partum depression after the birth of her first son William. “I was unwell with post-natal depression, which no one ever discusses, post-natal depression, you have to read about it afterwards, and that in itself was a bit of a difficult time,” the Princess said.

“What I needed was space and time to adapt to all the different roles that had come my way. I knew I could do it, but I needed people to be patient and give me the space to do it,” she continued.

Prince Harry seems to recognize the parallels between how the press treated his mother and how they treat his wife. Both women either were or are exceedingly tormented by tabloids, an issue that Harry still attributes to his mother’s death.

“Every single time I see a camera, every single time I hear a click, every single time I see a flash, it takes me straight back,” he said, referencing his mother’s tragic death in the new ITV documentary. “In that respect, it’s the worst reminder of her life as opposed to the best.”

Harry has taken steps to ensure what happened to his mother will not happen to his wife, suing several tabloids for alleged hacking.