Broadcaster Tom Bradby tried to help Meghan Markle understand Britain’s relationship with the royal family when he first met her, he has revealed.

The ITV News At Ten anchor was speaking on the BBC Radio 4 podcast Fortunately… With Fi And Jane.

“Sometimes you try and explain to people not from this country our relationship with the monarchy – I remember trying to explain it to Meghan a long time ago,” he said.

“It was one of the first times I met her. I was trying to explain it. It was like ‘good luck with that one’.

“You’re trying to explain the way, for so many people, our view of our country and who we are is to some extent tied up with the people on the balcony.”

Bradby, who is a long-time friend of the Duke of Sussex’s and attended the couple’s wedding, made the ITV documentary about the Sussexes’ tour of Southern Africa.

In it, Meghan described her past year as a member of the royal family as “hard” and said her British friends had warned her not to marry Harry.

Royal visit to Africa
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their tour of Southern Africa (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

The duke and duchess’s candid on-screen interview gave a glimpse into the struggles they faced as newlyweds and new parents, living in the public eye.

The duchess said she tried to cope with the pressures of her new life by putting on a “stiff upper lip”, but she was not prepared for the intensity of the tabloid interest.

Harry said he loved his brother the Duke of Cambridge dearly but they were “on different paths” and have “good days” and “bad days” in their relationship.

Bradby said of the documentary: “Funnily enough I wouldn’t want to do it very often.

“I needed to go and have a long lie down after it because the psychological complexities is a bit tricky.”