News feed
LONDON, United Kingdom – On Wednesday evening, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quietly dropped what can only be described as a bombshell, releasing a statement to their joint Instagram account announcing their decision to ‘step back’ as senior members of the royal family, their plans to become financially independent and their intention of splitting their time between the UK and the US.
The response was swift and predictably brutal.
Instead of people commending Meghan Markle and Prince Harry for putting their mental health and family’s wellbeing first and for wanting to work for themselves, people branded Markle as evil, a witch who put a spell on Prince Harry who is marching him – a grown man who can no doubt make his own decisions – out of Buckingham Palace with handcuffs on.
To say Markle has had an incredibly rough since joining the British royal family in 2018 would be an understatement. She has endured blatant racism, public abuse by her own disgruntled family members and headline after headline condemning her every move – from the way she held her baby bump to the colour of nail polish on her fingers.
Instead of trying to grin and bear it, last year Markle spoke candidly about the impact the constant scrutiny was having on her physical and mental wellbeing – a vulnerable woman and new mother close to tears, practically begging people to be decent human beings.
But of course, this latest announcement, something royal commentators are comparing to King Edward VIII’s decision in 1936 to abdicate the throne to marry his divorced lover Wallis Simpson, has sent Markle haters into overdrive with the pettiness reaching such extreme levels that the very next day, Madame Tussauds removed the couple’s waxwork figures from its Royal Family display in London.
Within hours, the phrase ‘Megxit’ was trending on Twitter in the UK with journalists such as Piers Morgan, a vocal Markle critic, using the opportunity to call her (among other things) “deluded” and a “Kardashian-wannabe,” saying Markle wants the positive parts of her celebrity status but doesn’t want to do the hard yards.
The Good Morning Britain presenter, a rich, middle-aged white man, was speaking about the woman who has been an activist and outspoken feminist since she was a child and who undoubtedly has plans to do even more for the public in her new role than she could with royal constraints: the couple was prevented from doing any work outside the monarchy until now and have already announced their plans to launch a new charitable entity while continuing to honour their patronages and the monarchy.
People hate change almost as much as they love an easy target. But really, what real difference does the location of one couple, who will never inherit the throne, and their job description really make to our everyday lives, if it makes the world of difference to theirs?
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex would’ve have been bracing themselves for this backlash, knowing that Markle would bear the brunt of it, because that’s exactly what drove them away in the first place.
Those who find pleasure in tearing down a young family who have spent their lives helping others and who want to continue to do so while protecting their physical and mental wellbeing are just confirming what Prince Harry and Meghan Markle already know: there’s no room for a mixed-race feminist in the British royal family.
