Ilia Mehr Bakhsh ’23
Contributor
On March 7, 2021, a historic interview was aired. Oprah Winfrey, arguably one of the best interviewers in North America, sat down in a beautiful garden in sunny Los Angeles, California, to host a conversation with the former Duke and Duchess of Sussex who had left the Royal Family in the early days of 2020.
The former Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, was in the hot seat for most of the interview, with her husband Prince Harry joining much later. When Harry was asked to explain the main reason behind their departure from the Royal Family, he said that he and his wife received a “lack of support.” “Lack of support” became a theme throughout this interview, leading to Meghan Markle’s shocking claims that left viewers in utter surprise.
To look at the interview from a complete perspective, we can’t forget Meghan Markle’s history. The couple’s marriage was a fairy-tale coming to life. A mixed-race woman married into a forward-thinking monarchy and wed her loving husband. She went from being an unknown actress to a princess. Despite Markle’s claims, tabloids and news sources congratulated her, celebrating her and her marriage. As a role model, actress, fashion icon, and now a princess, she was well received and respected. Her claims about the British tabloids were, in essence, false.
Additionally, Meghan Markle has been disloyal. Early on in her life, it was exposed that she ended relationships after manipulating the people in her life. She has cut people off—including her father—selling the narrative that she has a drunken father with terrible stepsisters, making her look innocent and lovely. Despite this, it has been clear that Markle had had a close relationship with her father’s family. Markle’s friend even claims that after Markle divorced her former husband Trevor Engelson, she asked to be “paired with a rich British boy.”
While Prince Harry and Markle were in a relationship, Prince William even warned Harry not to move too fast into marriage. Markle claims the Royal Family did not stand up to the British tabloids, despite the Royal Family complaining and removing multiple stories from publication. The Royal Family also went as far as to break customs to invite Markle and her mother to gatherings and parties to pay respect to them.
Markle also implied in the interview that her son Archie would lose his title as prince due to alleged racism in the Royal Family. However, Prince Charles, long before Prince Harry’s marriage, thought of decreasing the number of princes and princesses in the Royal Family.
After the death of Prince Philip only about a month after this interview, it is difficult to regard Harry and Meghan as innocent victims. Perhaps Meghan Markle did feel overwhelmed being a part of the Royal Family. Maybe there really were concerns about Archie’s skin tone. But going so far as to insult the Royal Family as an institution, the foundation of not only Britain but the entire Commonwealth, is a step too far.
Photo Credit: Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese
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