US-born aristocrat Lady Julie Montagu says being around 'emotionally open' Americans will be good for Prince Harry as he builds a new life in California with Meghan Markle
- Lady Julie Montagu, 47, was born in Illinois and is married to Lord Luke Montagu
- She has opened up about the major culture differences between two countries
- Said Prince Harry's move to LA will help him to 'open up' about feelings more
Prince Harry's life will be very different after leaving Britain for California, according to Lady Julie Montagu.
The 47-year-old, who was born in Illinois but moved to the UK 15 years ago, married Luke Timothy Charles Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke, the son of the 11th Earl of Sandwich.
Speaking to Town and Country, she has opened up about the major culture differences between them both - and what these may now mean for the Duke, 35, and Duchess of Sussex, 38.
'I feel like he has found somebody that he can be emotionally open with and I think that's a really good thing,' she said. 'Family becomes the most important thing.'
Lady Julie Montagu, 47, who was born in Illinois but lives in Southwest London, is married to British aristocrat Lord Luke Montagu, heir to the Earl of Sandwich. Pictured, on Good Morning Britain on 28 November 2017
Pictured, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Archie Mountbatten-Windsor meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation during their royal tour of South Africa on September 25, 2019 in Cape Town
Lady Julie Montagu, who manages the Mapperton Estate in Dorset with her husband, went on to express her belief that Americans are generally thought to be more open then Brits.
'I always say whenever you meet an American, you know their life story within 24 hours,' she explained. 'We're very emotionally open, which I think for Harry is actually a really good thing.'
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Julie, who has four children – Emma, 21, and Jack, 18, from her first marriage, and William, 15, and Nestor, 13, with Luke - added: 'He'll be able to talk about his feelings, probably more than he was able to talk about over here.'
'I wouldn't be surprised if we start to hear a little bit more about how he feels about losing his mother at age 12, and maybe how he and Megan were treated in the press over here.'
Lady Julie Montagu first met her husband Luke at a drinks party in 2002, and within a few years, the American yoga teacher, nutrition expert and author, and the heir to the Earl of Sandwich, were married. Pictured, on Good Morning Britain on 1 July 2019
Lady Julie Montagu first met her husband Luke at a drinks party in 2002, and within a few years, the American yoga teacher, nutrition expert and author, and the heir to the Earl of Sandwich, were married.
The American star of Bravo's 2014 reality series Ladies of London, who has herself experienced being a fish out of water in the UK after she left her native Illinois, previously revealed she sympathises with Meghan and Harry and understood why they decided to forge their own path.
She told People that the major transition gave her some perspective on Megxit, explaining: 'You don’t know what you’re getting into until you’re in it, especially with the monarchy.'
Julie added it's likely that Meghan wasn't fully prepared for how different her life would be when she married Prince Harry.
'People can tell you and they can try to prepare you, but you don’t know. There is a real difference between Britain and America.
'We may speak the same language, but it’s completely two different cultures, and more so with the royal family. There are traditions. There are protocols,' she said.
Viscount Hinchingbrooke, Adela King, Julie Montagu, Marissa Hermer and Luke Henderson Julie Montagu Eat Real Food 'Pocket Lifestyle' book launch at Bumpkin, Chelsea, London, on 8 March 2016
