I think it's something that the vast majority of Americans misconstrue about the British Royal Family. For the most part what you see in mainstream US media is the fairytale weddings, the uniforms and tiaras, and occasionally things like newsreels of Diana in Africa or with children. You never hear about the constraints of being in the family, the more mundane tasks like watching parading soldiers or opening hospitals, the sense of duty that comes with being in the family, and its ties to British cultural identity. I think she thought she was going to have this amazing global platform to push through the things that she wanted to advocate for and change, and instead found that she couldn't say or do anything that could be interpreted as too radical or professing a polarizing political opinion. So there goes a huge, huge chunk of her "woke" activism. The BRF advocates for things that they're passionate about (Charles and the environment, Kate and children's issues for instance) but it's all generally very neutral and doesn't really cause a stir.
well some of Charles' activism and his causes have caused a stir, and he;s been criticized for using his position as POW to push for various things.. and nowadays I think he is more cautious...
But re Meghan maybe she was concerned about the state of the world and believed that the RF would give her a platform.. but - Im not so sure. Im sure she did want to use the royal position to do good.. but was it really foremost in her mind?
I think the restrictions of various kinds DID bother her.. but it was not all her virtuously feeling "OH I wanted to do something for the poor and this RF says I can't talk about this or that issue".. I think she felt irritated if she was told say "You can't speak about something like abortion because its a contentious issue.." or "You have to give way to harry in public" or stuff like tat.
And possibly she was told that if she took up causes, it was about the cause, and wasn't' meant to be a platform for her to talk about herself so to speak..
I can understand some fo the irritation but IMO she took it too far and wouldn't give the "RF as platform" idea a chance. She found herself restricted. She found herself criticized.. She got annoyed and wanted out.
And I think she again didn't understand that she could not go around making money as a royal.... again, she got cross, and wouldn't work to find a way around the limitations of the position. I think she saw some junior royals engaging in business, and didn't realize that as a senior working royal she could not do the same..
I suspect she saw Charles's Duchy brand being sold and didn't understand that apart from running an estate, "business" is kind of verboten for senior royals. Just as Fergie wrote a book years ago and justified it by saying she would donate the profits to charity..but then it emerged that she din't give all that much of it to charity.. and then justified herself by saying that she really needed to make money.
I think Meg had believed that as a royal, she would get a lot of adulation, like Diana had had.... that she'd be very very rich and have no restrictions on what she spent (and was told that conspicuous consumption isn't looked on well with old fashioned British).. and overall instead of trying to find wriggle room, and work iwthin the limitations of the job, she got angry and wanted to get out...
Maybe she is just fame hungry? Before her relationship with Harry, Meghan was just another random actress on a TV show many people haven't heard of. After she was linked with Harry, she became the most searched woman on Google in 2016. And like
acdc1 said, many Americans only see the glamourous part of the monarchy, perhaps Meghan thought that she would wear a tiara whenever she's on an engagement.
I don't know if she's "fame hungry" but I dont think she's really got her mind all the time on doing good...I agree that she' probably didn't have a clear idea of what the RF is about and that its not so glamourous as it might appear if you watch the big ceremonial occasions. I think she thought that a lot of the "charity" side of things would be like a Hollywood charity event complete with red carpet and glitzy dresses and photographers ...
I dont think she really got that social life within the RF would also be rather mundane.. county walks, shooting parties, muddy wellies sort of life with an elderly and unglamorous lady at the head of things...