Wish Come True? Meghan Markle Wanted to be ‘Princess Diana 2.0,’ Biographer Says

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, reportedly sought to become "Princess Diana 2.0," but, despite numerous similarities, still ended up being "Meghan 1.0," biographer Andrew Morton claims.

"When she was a teenager, Meghan talked one day about being ‘Diana 2.0' but for now she is more accurately described as Meghan 1.0," Morton wrote in a column for The Telegraph on Saturday.

The author pointed out numerous similarities between the two royal family members who each have become a widely-loved celebrity, only to shortly be squashed by the press.

"Just as Meghan has quickly morphed from Duchess Dazzling to Duchess Difficult, so in a matter of months Princess Diana was transformed from fairytale princess to a ‘fiend and a monster,'" Morton writes.

He specifically pointed out the glee with which the UK press described her bodyguard and assistant's departure after serving for only a couple of months — comparing with similar media scandals that surrounded the late Princess ‘Di'.

"[Princess Diana] was blamed for what was gleefully described as ‘malice at the palace,' the departure in quick succession of many of Prince Charles's long-serving staff including his private secretary, valet and Scotland Yard bodyguard," Morton wrote in comparison with Markle.

Both Prince Harry and Prince William have attempted to use privacy laws in an effort to protect their wives from the prying eyes of the UK tabloid press, Morton says.

"Meghan asked the Press Office to deny the drift of negative stories — but she was confronted with the age-old palace argument that if they denied one they have to deny them all," he writes, adding that both Meghan and Diana were speculated to have had their friends to go to the press directly to counter the negative stories.

Much of the negative coverage Markle receives allegedly stems from her estranged father, Thomas Markle, and her half-sister Samantha. Thomas published a letter from Meghan in which she asks him to tone down on the media interviews. Morton noted that Princess Diana also fell out with her mother after she married Prince Harry.

"This disconnect between the reality of Meghan's life and the unfair way she sees herself now portrayed has doubtless encouraged her to take a leaf straight from Princess Diana's playbook — to go over the head of the Palace and allow her friends to speak on her behalf," Morton writes.

In the meantime, "both women shared a humanitarian mission," he says. "Both charismatic, their glamor offset by a spiritual dimension, a profound belief that they had a calling to use their position to make a difference."

"It is remarkable how these two women, lifetimes and worlds apart, have enjoyed so many Sliding Doors moments," Morton added.