The Specific Suits Line The Royal Family Reportedly Wouldn't Let Meghan Markle Say

From 2011-2018, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, played Rachel Zane on the TV comedy/drama "Suits." As Meghan's career took off over the course of 108 episodes, so did her love life. Meghan and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex's relationship began in July 2016 with the couple's first date. As their romance continued, Meghan's personal life became intertwined with her professional one. In addition to heightened security needs, Meghan's future in-laws started offering feedback on scripts. "Not many things, by the way, but a few things that we wanted to do and couldn't do, and it was a little irritating," "Suits" creator Aaron Korsh confided to The Hollywood Reporter.

While Korsh is unsure how the royals got a peek at the scripts, he has clear memories of The Firm's stance on having Meghan's character say "poppycock." The term is a favorite of Korsh's in-laws when discussing contentious situations. However, "the royal family did not want her saying the word," the "Suits" creator recalled. "I presume because they didn't want people cutting things together of her saying 'c*ck.' So, we had to change it to 'bullsh*t' instead."

Although the royals have made bizarre requests from time to time, Korsh understood their wish to avoid future embarrassment. Even so, he was disappointed he couldn't include this covert reference to his in-laws. In addition, this situation isn't the first time the royal family has prohibited a particular word. Words like "pardon," "toilet," and "perfume," are reportedly frowned upon in royal company.

As she came closer to becoming an official member of the royal family, it was challenging for Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, to balance her acting career and her relationship with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. However, the couple were determined to overcome the difficulties. "I think that very early on, when we realized we were going to commit to each other, that we knew we had to invest in the time and the energy and whatever it took to make that happen," Meghan informed the BBC in 2018. "With the filming schedule, it was not the easiest, because it of course included a lot of travel."

Before "Suits" featured a prospective royal family member, William and Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales, were purportedly fans of the show. While Harry didn't watch any episodes before he met Meghan, he did end up watching a few of Meghan's steamy "Suits" scenes after they got together — a decision he later regretted. Harry has also indicated that the incident involving the word "poppycock" wasn't the only time royals had suggestions for the "Suits" staff. "The show writers were frustrated, because they were often advised by the palace comms team to change lines of dialogue, what her character would do, how she would act," he wrote in his memoir, "Spare," per Newsweek. However, for show creator Aaron Korsh, apart from the "poppycock," dialogue swap, none of the other royal revisions remained memorable. 

While Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, appears in "Suits" episodes that originally aired in 2018, she'd already left her role as Rachel Zane in 2017. The duchess announced her decision in November 2018, after her engagement to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, became public. "Once we hit the 100 episode marker I thought you know what I have, I have ticked this box and I feel really proud of the work I've done there and now it's time to, as [Harry] said, work as a team," Meghan explained to the BBC at the time.

Even in the early days of Meghan and Harry's relationship, Aaron Korsh, the show's creator, planned for her eventual departure. "What we decided to do (was to) say, 'look, I would rather have good things happen to Meghan in her life' — which would likely mean her leaving the show," Korsh explained to BBC Radio 4 in 2017. With the writers, Korsh crafted a potential way for Meghan's character to exit the story. "It's much easier to undo that, if it came to it, than to just plan on her staying forever and then finding out she's going to go."

Korsh's prescience paid off, and he was delighted to join some of the "Suits" actors at Meghan and Harry's royal wedding. "It was one once in a lifetime experience after another," he tweeted. "My world will forever be richer for having those memories."