Meghan struggling to survive scrutiny

The Duchess of Sussex has spoken of the unbearable pressure of life in the spotlight as a member of the Royal family, saying it is no longer enough for her to ‘‘just survive’’ it.

The duchess, pictured, who has a five-month-old son, Archie, said it is essential for her to ‘‘thrive’’ and ‘‘feel happy’’, warning that simply enduring unwanted scrutiny is ‘‘not the point of life’’.

In a television interview broadcast yesterday, the Duke of Sussex also acknowledged a ‘‘rift’’ with his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, for the first time.

The couple appeared deeply emotional in the strongest hint yet that they are finding public life as it stands untenable.

The duchess’s words, in which she insisted she had ‘‘really tried’’ to adopt the British stiff upper lip before concluding it was ‘‘internally really damaging’’, will lend weight to fears that the Sussexes are seeking a path away from traditional royal family life.

In the explosive programme with ITV, which will attract inevitable comparison to the Panorama interview undertaken by her late mother-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales, the duchess laid bare her profound unhappiness about life in the media spotlight. Disclosing that her British friends had warned her away from Prince Harry when they were dating, telling her that the tabloids would ‘‘ruin her life’’, she said she was naive not to believe them.

Insisting she does not object to fair scrutiny, the duchess claimed her treatment in the press had been a ‘‘different beast’’ and said: ‘‘I never thought this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair.’’