Meghan Markle was keen to branch out in politics but her hopes were dashed after she failed a key test, a book claims.

Meghan Markle once failed a key test that made her political ambitions fall apart, according to a book.

The Duchess of Sussex has long been rumoured to be keen on branching out into the political field, although Meghan herself never publicly spoke about similar aspirations.

Prince Harry’s wife revealed during episode three of her Archetypes podcast series that she was “the smart one, not the pretty one” while growing up.

She said: “I always thought, well I’m way more Betty than Veronica [from the Archie comics], and am I going to get the guy one day? And I was the smart one, not the pretty one.”

But it seems like her ambitions to start a career in the diplomatic service received a huge blow when she was still a university student after she failed a test that would have opened a path for her to get a position at the US State Department.

Meghan Markle once failed a key test that dashed her political ambitions (Image: Getty)

In 1999, the duchess enrolled at Northwestern University in Illinois to study theatre and international studies.

And it was during her studies there that she managed to secure an internship at the US embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the help of her now-estranged father, Thomas Markle and his brother, Mike.

The move reportedly sparked the duchess’s political ambitions, but her dreams were shattered after she didn’t score high enough on a key test for a job at the State Department.

According to the book Finding Freedom by authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, Meghan failed the Foreign Service Officer Test, which left her disappointed.

The book read: “When she didn’t pass the highly competitive test, she was extremely disappointed.

Meghan Markle attended Northwestern University (Image: Getty)

“She wasn’t used to failing. It was a major blow to her confidence, which she had always tried to protect.”

The duchess then returned to Northwestern University where she earned her bachelor’s degree with a double major in theatre and international studies at its School of Communication.