The interview itself was poignant and difficult to watch. A testament to the problems that persist in the monarchy and the tabloid media. Meghan spoke openly about how she ‘didn’t want to be alive anymore’ due to the constant barrage of abuse she received, but perhaps more shocking was the revelation that when she went to get help, she was told repeatedly that it wasn’t a possibility because it would look bad for the royal family. This is particularly disturbing given the mental health campaigns that members of the Royal family have supported in recent years.
There were conversations about the baby’s skin tone and how dark he would be and what that would mean
Since then many high profile media figures such as Piers Morgan have reacted shockingly to these claims, doubting whether Meghan was suicidal or whether she reached out for help, undoubtedly proving their point. They commented on how the tabloids twisted the stories, in particular the story about Meghan making Kate cry, which turned out to be the opposite with Kate making Meghan cry. It seemed a fairly insignificant affair, given Kate apologised but the tabloids used it to fuel an attack on Meghan. It was also said that the institution was willing to actively lie to defend other members of the royal family (Cough, Prince Andrew) but was not willing to tell the truth to defend Meghan.
Racism was always a factor in Meghan’s treatment but it was shocking to hear nonetheless that, when Meghan was pregnant with Archie, that there were conversations about the baby’s skin tone and how dark he would be and what that would mean. Whilst the person having the conversation was not mentioned, Oprah has said that Harry made it clear that it was not his Grandmother or Grandfather. He also said his son was denied the title of Prince and was not Harry also expressed frustration that 72 MPs had written a letter condeming the colonial undertones of the news coverage of Meghan but that his own family were not willing to defend her.
They both agreed that had they been given the proper support they would not have stepped back from Royal duties, and rejected claims that they were doing it for selfish and careerist reasons. Harry said that his reasons for his actions was that he feared history was repeating itself and that their intention was never to fully cut themselves off from the monarchy, they wished to serve as non senior members of the monarchy, but when security was removed from them in Canada they were forced to move to LA. They have now set up a public organisation focused on creative media ventures called ‘Archewell’ which was briefly mentioned.
This series of events has exposed the deep flaws in the institution of the monarchy and criticism of it should be welcome
In a seemingly passing way during the interview Meghan compared herself to Princess Ariel, who meets a prince she loves but loses her voice in the process, for me this perfectly encapsulates the deeply sad way she has been treated. This series of events has exposed the deep flaws in the institution of the monarchy and criticism of it should be welcome but instead the media has fuelled the narrative that this was another manipulative and calculated move which again only serves to prove their point.
Since making controversial remarks surrounding the mental health of Meghan Markle on the much loved show, Good Morning Britain, Piers Morgan recieved over 40,000 complaints. His co-hosts, Alex Beresford and Susanna Reid were shocked by his comments; leading to him storning out of the ITV studio during Monday's episode. Morgan has since made the decision to step down from the show.
Feature Image: Instagram @hrhofsussex