- An American woman who married into nobility said she predicted Harry and Meghan would leave the UK months ago — and people didn't believe her.
- Julie Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke — the future Countess of Sandwich — told Insider she knew the couple were going to move to the US due to how badly they were being treated by the British tabloids.
- "Maybe about six months ago, I was on some program over here in the UK, and I said if the tabloid press continues like this, they will move away," Julie told Insider.
- "I was almost mocked for saying that, but sure enough they moved away," she added.
- This comes after Harry and Markle wrote explosive letters to four British tabloids, cutting off all contact, because they didn't want to "offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion."
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
When
There is a minuscule number of people in the world who understand what that experience is like.
Julie Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke, is one of them.
Julie, an American yoga instructor and TV personality, became part of British nobility when she married Luke Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, 17 years ago.
The Montagus will one day inherit the titles Earl and Countess of Sandwich, a title that sandwiches were famously named for in 1762.
And while Julie enjoys the life she has built here in the UK, she understands the pressures that come with marrying into a high-profile and ancient family line like the Windsor's.
So much so, that she predicted "
However, Julie's concerns weren't taken seriously at all
"It didn't surprise me. Maybe about six months ago, I was on some program over here in the UK, and I said if the tabloid press continues like this, they will move away," Julie told Insider.
"And I was almost mocked for saying that, but sure enough they moved away."
Julie didn't name the TV show. However, she did make an appearance on "Good Morning Britain" in October 2019, two months before the duke and duchess announced their "step back."
During the interview, she said "it wouldn't surprise me if they moved to America."
"Why would they stay here? Why would you stay here, when you're scrutinized all the time?" she added.
"When I first moved over here 20 years ago, I thought what is this British tabloid ... We just don't have the same thing. In America, they are so loved over there. Why wouldn't you want to raise your children in a place where you are being written about positively?"
However, host Kate Garraway wasn't entirely convinced, saying: "I'd like to think they are loved by the [British] people."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their "step back" from royal duties in January, saying they planned to balance their time between the UK and North America.
The couple spent time on Vancouver Island, Canada, before relocating to LA earlier this year.
"I think that obviously with me being an American living over here for the last 20 years, you get an insight to the difference between British press, and the British tabloid press," Julie told Insider.
"If you compare the tabloids here to America, there's only a couple over there and you don't really take them seriously.
"But over here, they're relentless. In my view, if people really start reading the articles written about her they would understand why they wanted to move away," she added.
"The second you have a family and a child, I think the last thing you want is your every move to be in the spotlight and critiqued."
Harry and Markle announced in January that they would stop using the royal rota, a circulating system that allows reporters from different UK newspapers — including tabloids — to attend and report on their engagements.
Later, they cut off all contact with The Sun, the Daily Express, the Daily Mail, and the Daily Mirror. In April, they wrote letters to each publication, saying they didn't want to "offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion."
Like Markle, Julie had little idea what she was getting herself into when she met her husband
Julie spoke to Insider about her own experience when she first learned that her future husband, Luke, was a nobleman after just a few months of dating.
After spotting his title, Viscount, on a debit card, Montagu said she accidentally pronounced it like "discount" instead of "vy-count."
The blunder only made Luke realise she was the one he wanted to marry, according to Julie.
"I didn't really know anything, I thought only the royal family … [have titles]" she said.
"I quickly learned there's dukedoms, earldoms, and then I pronounced his name the wrong way.
"I think that was when he was like, 'right, that's the girl I want to marry, because she has no idea. This is perfect,'" she added. "So it's a good story."
It wasn't too dissimilar to Markle's experience when she met Harry in 2016. The pair were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend, and Markle said she didn't know much about the prince or his family initially.
"Because I'm from the States, you don't grow up with the same understanding of the royal family," Markle said during her and Harry's engagement interview in 2017.
"Given that I didn't know a lot about him, everything I learned about him was through him," she added.
These days, Julie balances running the Mapperton Estate — the Montagus' 500-year-old family home — with yoga classes, her four children, and work on her new TV series, "An American Aristocrat's Guide to Great Estates."
In the series, Julie travels across the UK to ancient family estates and castles to show that running these homes isn't quite the fairytale it appears to be.
"These homeowners use their home as a business. They live in six rooms in the entire castle and the rest is open to the public. So you're living in a home that's your business," she said.
"It's not like the royal family, who get taxpayer money. A lot of people think aristocratic families get taxpayer money during COVID-19, but there's never been taxpayer money for aristocratic homes open to the public," she added.
"In order to keep these places going, you need to make them commercially viable. And that's really what the TV series is partly about, it's history, and brings in the family that's been part of it for generations."
You can watch the premier of Julie Montagu's new series, "An American Aristocrat's Guide to Great Estates," on the Smithsonian Channel on May 17 at 9 p.m EST.
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