Meghan Markle takes veiled swipe at her in-laws, then giggles

The Duchess of Sussex may not have mentioned her blue-blooded in-laws by name in her new Netflix series, but sometimes a strategic pause to emphasise an implication is all that's needed to get a point across.

That much became clear less than 30 minutes into the first episode of With Love, Meghan, when Meghan was baking a "naked" honey cake with makeup artist Daniel Martin – an innocent activity were it not for the veiled comments and knowing glances exchanged between the longtime friends throughout.

"When we cut it, it'll be beautiful, but we keep the outside exposed," Meghan slowly explained to Martin as she patiently guided him through the basics of buttercream and berry compôte.

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"You know what it is? She's beautiful on the inside," Meghan continued as she and Martin assembled the three-tiered treat.

Minutes later, the 43-year-old former senior working royal revisited that train of thought, this time leaving no room for misinterpretation.

"There's something really satisfying about a cake that's bare on the outside but she's so beautiful on the inside, and you just don't know how good she is until you go deep and get to know her better," the Montecito-based mother-of-two told Martin with a wry smile, and Martin was quick to agree."Don't pass judgement," Martin, who worked with Meghan when she was on Suits, conspired.

"No one knows your business. Until you cut them open."

A soft giggle and eyebrow raise was the only endorsement viewers were shown from the duchess before the scene's cut, but her low-key response still served its purpose as a pointed message to her many critics.

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Meghan's silence, as we'd come to realise by the end of the eighth and final episode, speaks volumes.

As 9honey's royal reporter Natalie Oliveri writes, five years on from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's infamous royal resignation – which saw them flee the United Kingdom and sign multiple millions-dollar production deals – "This is the most significant project Meghan has taken on that doesn't involve trashing the monarchy for monetary gain."

This time, Meghan doesn't make public accusations of alleged mistreatment from senior members of The Firm to Oprah Winfrey, nor does Meghan, this time, lay bare the allegedly sinister inner dynamics of the 'Fab Four' as she and Prince Harry did in their previous Netflix project, the 2022 docuseries Harry & Meghan.

She didn't have to.

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In Spare, Harry notably compared the two-bedroom home to a badger's sett, and the couple ended up moving to the bigger Frogmore Cottage ahead of Prince Archie's birth in 2019.

Frogmore Cottage and the millions of pounds the Sussexes paid to renovate it notably became collateral damage in the fallout from Harry and Meghan's interview with Winfrey, Spare and Harry & Meghan, but that's another story.

Meghan's constant companion Guy, the beagle she adopted in 2015, was also a reminder of what she's endured – and not just because of his death in January, which was commemorated in the final episode with an "In Loving Memory" end-credits slate.

First appearing in episode three, it was his cameo in episode five that saw the duchess refer to everything she's been through as a woman in the public sphere – and the criticism that comes with being a former working member of the British royal family.

"Guy's just always there. He's my shadow for a very, very, very long time," Meghan said.

"Guy's been with me since I lived in Toronto. He was found in the woods in Kentucky, and he's since moved with me to the UK, back to Canada, to California. So yeah, Guy has a lot of stories to tell."What Guy may or may not have seen remains a mystery, and not because dogs can't talk.

Rather, it's because Meghan, who can and has spoken out in the past, is following a new ethos.

To remain tight-lipped.

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