Why Does the Public Hate Meghan Markle?
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Creative Commons photo
The opinions reflected in this OpEd are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of staff, faculty and students of The King's College.
The world watched as Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest on Monday, Sep. 19. In the past few weeks, King Charles III took the throne, and William, Prince of Wales, became heir-apparent to the throne. In the meantime, British tabloids obsessively condemn everything that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, did or did not do during the funeral.
Dressed in all black, her gloves touching her elbows and hat tilted on her head, Meghan wiped away a tear from her cheek. This single tear sparked a controversy that overtook chatrooms and trended on Twitter.
It is shocking that a common thing, like crying at a funeral, could provoke so much arguing. The public deemed Meghan’s single tear fake and disrespectful, even though the only people who know the genuine relationship between Meghan and The Queen are not working for the press.
Which reaction would be more appropriate? If she smiled, she would be torn apart. She would be labeled cold, heartless and uncaring if she showed no emotion. No matter what she chose, it would have been wrong in the eyes of the public.
Four years after getting married, Prince Harry and Meghan have not had a moment of peace in terms of the British media. Why do they hate Meghan Markle? What did she do to deserve such dehumanizing treatment? The media portrayed Meghan as a malicious, vindictive sociopath with reports that she constantly bullied her staffers — making them cry on occasion. When she wanted to seek help for the suicidal thoughts that these allegations caused her, The Firm, better known to the public as The Crown, denied her the help she needed. Yet, the deafening silence from the royal family topped off all of the allegations. Neither the Queen nor anyone else in the family stood up and debunked these rumors against Meghan; they remained silent then were shocked when Meghan and Prince Harry revealed the truth. How could The Crown be unaware of what was going on? Should the public believe that these revelations blindsided them? It seems convenient.
It is time that Meghan Markle receives a reprieve. An apology is much needed, but why must she walk on eggshells whenever the camera turns on? Whether Meghan is walking ahead of Prince Harry or holding her pregnant belly, there seems to be an issue for people to debate. She cannot wear pants, but her dresses are too short. Meghan cannot hold Prince Harry’s hand, but if they tone down their PDA, their marriage must have issues. If Prince Harry tells the public to stop their harassment, they claim that she twisted his arm into saying something he did not want to. While the public can voice their thoughts about Meghan and Prince Harry, the pair are not offered the same courtesy. In March of 2021, the couple sat with Oprah to explain their departure from the U.K. and why they stepped back from their royal duties. In the infamous interview, Prince Harry connected his mother’s and Meghan’s treatment saying, “My biggest concern was history repeating itself… and when I’m talking about history repairing itself, I’m talking about my mother.”Meghan expressed shocking revelations, such as how people in the royal family worried about their son’s skin color and how she contemplated suicide.
This only intensified the public’s rampant hatred for the pair, who called them ungrateful and scorned them for stepping away from their posts. Instead of sympathizing or understanding their concerns, Meghan received a lashing. The British public believed she had taken the Prince away. She is the reason why he distanced himself from his family. Viewers replaced the accusations of racism, bullying and mental anguish with conjured-up conspiracy theories such as the idea that Meghan forced Prince Harry to do this sit-down interview. The British public is convinced that she lied about every aspect of her story, with Prince Harry following suit.
What is it about Meghan that makes everyone in the U.K. so uncomfortable? It is not truly what she wears or her “lack of royal training” — it’s her skin color. Sarah Vine published a popular piece in the Daily Mail titled, “Yes, they’re joyfully in love. So why do I have a niggling worry about this engagement photo?” Without speculation, it was an interesting choice of words for a simple engagement photo. The Daily Mail is known for its over-the-top headlines and rumor-filled articles, many of which attacked Meghan. These attacks led to Meghan suing and winning 1 million dollars in a civil suit. Ruth Styles wrote an article for the same publisher titled, “Harry’s girl is (almost) straight outta Compton…” She grew up two hours north of Compton.
The Queen’s funeral was a time for the family to mourn the loss and heal the hurt that caused tension. Nevertheless, the public continued fanning the flames. Meghan found herself as the outsider once again. It is no easier to deal with all of this when the media reports that her sister-in-law dislikes her and that the rest of the family would rather her not show up.
Meghan’s life with Prince Harry was supposed to be a fairytale, yet it is more like a nightmare wrapped in a Shakespearean tragedy.
Amara Pierre is the Culture Editor of the Empire State Tribune. She is a senior at The King’s College studying Media, Culture and The Arts.
This article has been updated to correct the titles of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.