If there is one person who knows about what goes down at Buckingham Palace it’s Paul Burrell, Princess Diana’s ex-butler. And Paul has some advice for Meghan Markle.

In a recent TV interview, Paul advises the Duchess of Sussex to not only “stay close” to Prince Harry, but to “get to know” Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, because “she’s the one that matters most.” Paul continued, “I know the way Buckingham Palace works. It’s like Downton on speed. I know that Meghan will not be popular with everyone; they like things to stay the same.”

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Paul added, “We have Meghan surfacing like quite a diva in the royal family. Well, she’s a mature woman, she knows what she wants and she’s out to get it.” Burrell also had this to say: “Buckingham Palace is a minefield for anyone going into it for the first time. I personally think the royal household is far more difficult than the royal family. They made Diana’s life hell.”

Paul, who started working for the Queen at age 18, and later for Diana, was being interviewed for a one-off documentary called Kate V Meghan: Princesses At War?. The special details the speculation that, since her marriage to Harry, Meghan has not made fans of the royal family. Paul suggests that Meghan will be up against “powerful forces” in royal circles, which makes it sound like she has to go fight in a war. Quite literally. Ever since Meghan was introduced into the royal family, there has been rumors of a major rift between her and Kate Middleton.

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“One day Meghan will have to curtsey to Queen Kate and Meghan will have to understand that. It’s protocol,” Paul said. Meghan and Kate were most recently seen walking to church together on Christmas. But who knows when that scene will happen again, as a family friend told People that the pair are “very different characters” They added, “If you bring two independent-minded women from the real world into the royal world, they are going to want to have an impact.”

While Paul does suggest that Meghan stick with her husband, it’s pretty clear that she’s a strong woman who will continue to shake things up in the near future.

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