This paper is concerned with magnetic monopole solutions of SU(3) Yang–Mills–Higgs systems beyond the Bogomol’nyi–Prasad–Sommerfield limit. The different SU(2) embeddings, which correspond to the fundamental monopoles, as well as the embedding along composite root are studied. The interaction of two different fundamental monopoles is considered. Dissolution of a single fundamental non-BPS SU(3) monopole in the limit of minimal symmetry breaking is analysed.