The Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was broadcasted on 7th March, Sunday in her talk show. This two-hour sit-down brought out a lot of issues and has answered many questions about the British monarchy and its hidden racism.
The interview that aired on CBS revealed a lot of new information and clarified old information about how the royal family treated Meghan Markle ever since she started dating Harry.
Meghan is a divorced biracial American actor, famous for her role in the popular TV show 'Suits'. She married Prince Harry in 2018, but even before their marriage, since the announcement of their engagement, everything she did was made controversial. From her identity to her pregnancy, everything made the headlines.
In 2020, the couple officially stepped down from their royal duties and this interview with Oprah is their first since leaving the royal family. The Oprah interview had similar feels to the Princess Diana interview with BBC journalist Martin Bashir about her husband Prince Charles' affair.
We got a glimpse of the workings of the Royal family.
In the interview, Harry said that racism was a big reason why he and Meghan left Britain for America.
The major things that were discussed during this interview are as followed:
Meghan never made Kate cry about a disagreement over flower girl dresses for the wedding. Kate made Meghan cry, but it was a stressful time, Kate apologized, and it was a non-issue. Yet 7 months later, the story was leaked with Meghan as the villain.
The press played up a rivalry between Meghan and Kate. When Kate ate avocados, she got positive articles written about her and her food choices. When Meghan ate avocados, she was contributing to the death of the planet. When Kate touched her pregnant belly, it was sweet. When Meghan touched her pregnant belly, it was attention-seeking. There are many more examples of such comparison.
On several occasions, members of the royal family made comments about the skin tone of the children Harry would have with Meghan.
Though Meghan was prepared to work for the royal family in the same capacity that other family members do, she was given no training for the role. She did her own research to the best of her ability with no guidance besides Harry's advice.
The firm told her she would be protected from the press to the extent they could manage, but that was a lie from the start. She was savaged in the press and it often took a racist bent. The family never stood up for her in the press or corrected lies.
There is a symbiotic relationship between the royal family and the tabloids. A holiday party is hosted annually by the palace for the tabloids. There is an expectation to wine and dine tabloid staff and give full access in exchange for sympathetic treatment in the news stories.
The firm wasn't crazy about how well Meghan did on the Australia tour, which echoes memories of Diana doing surprisingly well on her first Australia tour and winning over the public.
Meghan said she thought the family would embrace her as an asset because she provided representation for many of the people of color who live in commonwealths, but this wasn't the case.
Meghan's friends and family would tell her what the tabloids were saying about her and it became very stressful to deal with. She realized the firm wasn't protecting her at all. She says her only regret is believing they would provide the protection they promised.
Archie was going to become an Earl but was not given a title and without the title, was not entitled to security. Meghan said a policy changed while she was pregnant with Archie that took this protection away from him.
Harry and Meghan didn't choose to not give Archie a title, but the family had it reported in the press that it was their choice.
When Meghan was feeling the most isolated and abandoned, she started having suicidal thoughts which really scared her because she had never felt that way before. She asked for help in the appropriate places and received none.
Harry asked for help too and got nothing. She wanted to check herself into a facility to recover, but that was not an option without the palace arranging it, which they refused to do.
She recounted a particular instance where she and Harry attended a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. In the pictures, Meghan has a smile plastered on her face. But as she recalls, she told Oprah that she was weeping in the darkness of the hall, only to be smiling again when the lights came on. Everyone thought she looked great, but she wasn’t feeling so.
Once Meghan married into the family, she did not have her passport or ID, or car keys anymore. This doesn't mean she couldn't have them if she needed them, but that she would have needed a good, pre-approved reason to have them.
Even when she wasn't leaving the house, the press followed her and reporting on her as if she was going out to get attention and to start problems.
Finally, Prince Harry made the decision to take a step back. He wanted to become a part-time working royal member. They wanted to move to a commonwealth and settled in Canada, expected to keep working for the family on a part-time basis.
Stories were published misrepresenting their departure.
The Queen was not blindsided; she was notified in writing ahead of time of their plan. The idea of working part-time was taken off the table. Their security was removed entirely.
Scared of being unprotected amid numerous death threats, fueled by the racist press, they moved to one of Tyler Perry's houses and he gave them security. Later they moved to their own home.
Harry felt trapped in the life he was born into. He feels compassion for his brother and father who are still "trapped" in the system.
But not everything was bad. When Meghan spent time with the Queen, she said that she felt welcomed. She also shared a nice anecdote about the Queen sharing the blanket on her lap during a chilly car ride.
Oprah asked Harry, "What would Diana think of this?" To which Harry replied, "She would have been very angry with how this had played out. But, ultimately, all she’d ever want is for us to be happy.”
Oprah also congratulated the expecting couple who announced that their second child was going to be a girl. Harry said, “A boy and then a girl. What more could you ask for?”
As of now, the royal family hasn't issued a statement regarding the matter with their 'never complain, never explain' mantra. But they might have to this time because the issue now involves racism.
for more: https://www.thevirginblogs.com
0 Comments