Why the UK owe Meghan Markle an apology

Almost as soon Prince Harry was confirmed to be in a relationship with Meghan Markle the media and British public went into what can only be described as a complete frenzy. Prince Harry issued an unprecedented statement slamming the British press for the “racial undertone” of their coverage and for the “degree of pressure, scrutiny and harassment” of Meghan Markle. Kensington Palace sources said that the prince feared for the safety of Meghan and her family after they were “subjected to a wave of abuse” from the British media.

Despite Prince Harrys statement this did nothing to discourage the tabloids and they continued their attack on Meghan taking aim at absolutely everything from the way she dressed and how she wore her hair, she was criticised for putting her hands in her pockets, and the racist headlines also continued, the daily mail ran a headline entitled

"Harry's girl is (almost) straight outta Compton: Gang-scarred home of her mother revealed - so will he be dropping by for tea?”

The Spectator mentioned that “seventy years ago, Meghan Markle would have been the kind of woman the Prince would have had for a mistress, not a wife.”

Heres a headline from the mail in 2017 "Now that's upwardly mobile! How in 150 years, Meghan Markle's family went from cotton slaves to royalty via freedom in the U.S. Civil War. It was accompanied by a flowchart about her mother, titled:  “MUM’S SIDE: DIRT POOR IN DEEP SOUTH.”

Rachel Johnson the sister of prime minister Boris Johnson, described Markle’s mother as “a dreadlocked African-American lady from the wrong side of the tracks in a Daily mail article.

The headline of Sarah Vine’s opinion piece: “Yes, they’re joyfully in love. So why do I have a niggling worry about his engagement picture?” drew outrage on social media in particular because of the word ‘niggling’.

Meghan Markle became the Duchess of Sussex upon her marriage to Prince Harry in 2018. The royal wedding saw 1.9 billion people tune in to watch the ceremony live from the iconic St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Now you might think the press would finally leave Meghan Markle alone once she officially joined the royal family sadly this was not the case and the onslaught continued. After the royal wedding we saw headlines such as this one from the daily mail.

“Kicking up a stink: 'Dictatorial' bride Meghan wanted air fresheners for 'musty' 15th-century St George's Chapel... but the Palace said no” here is a headline about Kate Middleton after her marriage to Prince William.

“Ladies in waiting! Kate's £70 wedding day fragrance sells out as fans worldwide snap up last bottles” this headline was also taken from the daily mail.

Some of the more bizarre headlines include linking Meghans like for avocados to "human rights abuses, drought and murder” and my personal favourite was the laughable headline that suggested Meghans wedding flowers put Princess Charlottes life at risk.

Even throughout Meghan Markles pregnancy there was no let up she was even criticised and scrutinised for touching her own baby bump “Why can't Meghan Markle keep her hands off her bump? Experts tackle the question that has got the nation talking: Is it pride, vanity, acting - or a new age bonding technique?” they questioned a soon to be Mother about a basic human instinct, most expectant mothers protectively and lovingly cradle their baby bumps what makes Meghan Markle different from any other mum to be? Again lets look at a headline from the same publication about Kate Middleton during her pregnancy “Pregnant Kate tenderly cradles her baby bump while wrapping up her royal duties” thats a stark contrast in headlines don’t you think?

Meghan was also called fat, and a geriatric mother whilst pregnant, the Duchess of Cambridge was never subject to such cruel insults during any of her three pregnancies. And lets not forget that the media and social media trolls also accused Meghan Markle of “faking her pregnancy”

“Meghan Markle And The Moonbump: Why Are So Many People Convinced She's Faking Her Pregnancy? “ (Grazia) Why is it so hard for some people to believe that a married woman of colour could be pregnant with her husbands child? the african American singer, dancer, and actress Beyonce was also famously accused of faking her entire pregnancy when she revealed she was expecting her first child with her husband. I’m sure the media and public would have no issue believing that either of these women had conceived a child out of wedlock, as women of a darker hue are often stereotyped as ‘single mothers’ or the more derogatory term often used today is the phrase “Baby Mama”, the truth is people were outraged that a bi-racial woman had the audacity to marry into the royal family in the first place so the knowledge that she was about to bring a child into the world with her husband prince Harry (sixth in line to the British throne) really was the tipping point.

The most disappointing and shocking incident of all was when the BBC 5 Live presenter Danny Baker tweeted an image of a couple holding hands with a chimpanzee dressed in clothes with the caption: "Royal Baby leaves hospital” in response to the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son, Archie Harrison.

Meghan Markle gave up a successful career that she loved, to be with the man that she loves. She made the decision which i’m sure would have been a difficult and emotional one to say goodbye to her family and friends and move to an entirely different country. She sacrificed the privacy she once had and took on her royal duties with grace and poise. Despite the constant vile and hateful headlines written about her which must have been difficult to read she still attended every royal engagement with a smile on her face always showing support for her husband, she was willing to brave the constant hate and scrutiny to be with the man she loved, until one day Prince Harry decided that enough was enough, and said that he would “not be bullied into playing a game that killed his beloved mother” he made the choice to put his wife and their child's mental health and well-being first and once again the entire British public went into a frenzy.

The hashtag #Megxit was created implying that the evil and corrupt Meghan had forced helpless Harry away from his family without the permission of his grandmother the Queen. None of this was true but it didn’t stop people from saying it. Even after Harry made it explicitly clear in his speech that it was primarily his decision to take a step back from royal life there was no apology to Meghan for the false accusations, people still refused to believe that the idea to leave the royal family could possibly have come from Harry. There will be no apology for the way Meghan has been treated from the moment she began dating Harry although she certainly deserves one. We all watched as an innocent family were essentially chased out of the country and its simply shameful.

Even Meghan’s recent “Black lives matter” speech was met with backlash, her very existence is triggering to some, but the difference now is what the press and social media trolls say no longer holds any power, by leaving the UK she took control of her own narrative the media and British public can no longer complain about her living off the tax payers money (something royals have always done but it wasn’t an issue until Meghan came along) she is now financially free, they can’t accuse her of breaking royal protocol, and any other criticism they try to throw at her is now redundant.

As a brown and/ or bi-racial woman you do not have to suffer or endure you do not have to be ‘strong’ and stay in situations that are detrimental to your own well being thats what Harry and Meghan showed the world by leaving, go where you are loved, go where you are valued.

Sources

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3896180/Prince-Harry-s-girlfriend-actress-Meghan-Markles.html

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-the-union-of-royalty-and-showbiz

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-5130473/Meghan-Markles-upwardly-mobile-family.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-3909362/RACHEL-JOHNSON-Sorry-Harry-beautiful-bolter-failed-Mum-Test.html

https://www.boredpanda.com/uk-media-double-standarts-royal-meghan-markle-kate-middleton/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6447819/Meghan-kicks-stink-Dictatorial-bride-wanted-air-fresheners-musty-St-Georges-Chapel.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1383218/Royal-Wedding-The-little-known-70-fragrance-Duchess-Cambridge-Kate-Middleton-wore.html

https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/real-life/meghan-markle-fake-pregnancy-rumours/

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/20/uk/transcript-prince-harry-speech-intl-gbr/index.html#:~:text=Prince%20Harry%20addresses%20his%20decision%20to%20leave%20royal%20life&text=Here's%20the%20full%20transcript%20of,effected%20by%20HIV%20and%20AIDS.