Importance of Harry-Meghan Debacle

 

As a republican, I regard the monarchy as an archaic system with little relevance to the modern world. I do not however hold any ill will towards the Windsors themselves, I just don't believe in the institution they represent. Their personal lives are generally of little to no interest to me.

That being said, the current ongoing saga of former Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is difficult to ignore as it exposes a horrible underbelly of the UK: racism, misogyny and attitudes to mental health.

The background to all of this is in 2018, American actress Meghan Markle married British Royal Prince Harry to become the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. In 2020, they made the decision to step back from their Royal duties and would work to make themselves financially independent.

The question asked in the media was 'Why would they do this?' Look at the contributing factors and you realise the question should be, 'Why would they not?'

On the face of it, Meghan's story should be inspirational. A mixed-race girl from a broken home who became successful in her chosen field and ended up marrying a Prince. That's all well and good for Disney it would seem but not the United Kingdom.

Meghan's relationship with the Royal Family has always been defined through British media by her differences.

The most obvious difference, is her race. Much as we like to think ourselves as a progressive nation, Meghan's ethnicity is a big deal to many. Whilst inter-racial relationships have become increasingly common amongst the general populace, the Royal Family has remained very insular. Though it may seem simplistic to blame racism, its hard to conceive why similar stories involving Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle are reported in such different ways without some level of unconscious bias coming into play. 

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellievhall/meghan-markle-kate-middleton-double-standards-royal

The pressure wasn't only external but came from within as well. During their recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry and Meghan revealed an unnamed royal had expressed 'concern' over the skin colour of their first child, Archie. Added to Archie being refused a title and a refusal to acknowledge there could be a racial element to the criticism Meghan received, Harry understandably felt let down by his family.

And yeah, she's American too. Royals and Americans have a complicated history.

What perhaps bothers her largely older white male critics however, is that Meghan has opinions on things. That is not how we like our Royals. We like them to stand in the background so we can wheel them out whenever a ribbon needs cutting. An opinionated woman in a position of influence is a danger to the established order. Meghan is a strong feminist and believes in tackling climate change. What does Kate think about such things? Who knows, she keeps quiet like she's supposed to.

Perhaps the most revealing thing in the aftermath of the Oprah interview is reaction to Meghan revealing she had contemplated suicide. Her detractors response was to accuse her of lying showing we don't take mental health seriously enough. By her own admission, Meghan had been naive of what it meant to be a royal but when she claims they had reached out for help, they were ignored. Stiff upper lip and all that claptrap.

For Harry's part, his relationship with the press has always been an uneasy one. His mother Diana was killed escaping them. His every movement dissected in detail (not to mention, constant questioning of his parentage). He would not have made the decision to give up his duties lightly and would not, I believe, have been hen-pecked into it as some would like to portray. It is not difficult to understand why Harry would want to protect his own children from a circus that killed his mother and drove his wife to considering suicide.

The saga of Harry and Meghan is about more than bickering Royals. Its about us too, its about the society we want. Its our attitudes towards race and mental health, tackling them head on. Not dismissing them and sweeping them under the carpet.