LIZ JONES: Yes, Meghan was a stick in the spokes of the royal tricycle and Kate lost a good friend. But Harry had to grow up…

Meghan Markle: actress, feminist, podcaster, wife, mother, sister, activist. And now?

She can add another nickname to that long list. Stick. She is a ‘stick in the spokes’ of the freewheeling tricycle that was once William, Catherine and Harry.

That’s how the Duchess of Sussex was described by Gary Goldsmith, Catherine’s ‘Buncle’ or ‘evil uncle’, during a chat on Celebrity Big Brother earlier this week.

Meghan “creates so much drama” that doesn’t exist, he said, and then uses it to “rewrite history.” She is ‘extra dynamic’.

On Wednesday evening he even called for her to be stripped of her titles.

How seriously you take the opinions of a man who threw a spanner in the works of the royal family with his own vodka-fueled antics and tempestuous home life is up to you.

But he has a point. That royal tricycle, which once brought humor, camaraderie and youthful energy, now lies upside down in a ditch, with its wheels spinning and mud splattered everywhere.

I like Meghan. I admire women who take no prisoners, who refuse to simplify and smile, who have the courage to say to our future king, “Keep your finger out of my face.”

You go, girl!

To succeed as Meghan did in the world of American television is more difficult than qualifying to become an astronaut. You should harbor no fear and grow a skin so thick that you can reenter the Earth’s atmosphere without the need for shields.

Which, of course, tickled Meghan as she joined this triumvirate with its jokes and banter, nicknames and silly board games.

All famous (even mildly famous) people are difficult and self-doubting. But when you drop one in the middle of a family that believes royalty trumps stardom via meritocracy, you become a sharp jackknife in an over-inflated tire.

Yes, Meghan was a pet peeve, but Harry had to grow up, right? Life can’t just be spent in the stands, watching rugby, giggling.

Goldsmith revealed on CBB that he hasn’t actually met Meghan. Haha! But one thing he said did strike a chord: “When William, Harry and Kate were a threesome, they seemed very comfortable with each other.”

Today, Harry denies that he was ever happy then, that the smile was for the camera. But looking back, we do indeed see photo after photo of Harry and Kate in hysterics. There is a genuine affection, rapport and enjoyment in each other’s company, as easy to wear as an old sweater, but hard to fake.

William has always looked more reserved, weighed down by history and the expectations of duty. Kate undoubtedly saw the younger brother as uncomplicated, for her part.

If you ever get tired of kittens and puppies, just Google “Harry and Kate laughing” to cheer you up.

Remember when the ‘Three Musketeers’ raced against each other for charity in 2017?

Harry was the winner, but he slowed down and waited for his brother – the man he would later describe in his memoir Spare as his ‘enemy’ – to catch up. There was no competition there.

Watching the London 2012 Olympic Games together, attending premieres as a trio. It was just so easy and fun.

And who can forget the look on Harry’s face in Westminster Abbey when he saw Kate walking down the aisle to William. He spoke the words: ‘She is here now. She looks beautiful, I can tell you that.’

That clip went viral.

Harry said Kate was the sister he never had. She was undoubtedly a strong, feminine force who wasn’t afraid to tell him when he had overstepped his mark.

It is not only Harry’s zest for life from that time that I miss, but also the beautiful relationship between the two.

Now? There are endless photos of him looking gloomy. Of Meghan clinging like a sea slug to yet another pop concert. Him, stiff as a board.

But maybe after a while that’s what most marriages are? There are always more smiles for a friend than for your partner.

Any woman who was part of this well-groomed gang of three would have felt out of place. As an intruder you will undoubtedly make mistakes.

Meghan wore ripped jeans when she met William and Kate for the first time at Harry’s Kensington apartment, Nottingham Cottage. She had bare feet. She hugged.

The bigger point in all of this? Meghan stopped the carousel and showed Harry that life isn’t all about waving and smiling.

Maybe Harry looks so serious now, less happy and healthy, because he knows what his wife has been through – and is still going through. The endless trolling would wipe the smiles off the faces of most caring spouses.

Perhaps he looks back on his old, carefree life and thinks, ‘I must have been blind. I was an idiot, sheltered from the real world, its hardships, its twisted revenges.”

I think he stopped laughing because he finally woke up.

Meghan is certainly a pet peeve. She stopped a rollercoaster of beer pong and pheasant destruction.

But there is also sadness here. Kate has not only lost a good friend in Harry, but also someone she may now have to lean on as she recovers from surgery amid all the crazy theories about her health and her whereabouts.

He was someone who really got her.

On Wednesday night, our future Queen’s Buncle told his fellow Celebrity Big Brother Housemate, former Love Island contestant Ekin-Su: ‘She’s coming back. Of course she will.’

And she will. But the point is that Kate used to have a supportive brother-in-law, someone who could cheer her up, cajole her, and comfort her.

But Harry grew up, grew apart. And unfortunately, William lost the light in his shadow.