While I haven’t read Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare” yet, I have been watching the Netflix series “Harry & Meghan,” in which both Harry and Meghan tell their side of the story and the events that led up to their departure from England and from their roles as primary members of the British Royal Family.
Neither Harry nor Meghan are strangers to the media or paparazzi. Meghan had a leading role in the drama series “Suits,” but before she came into fame, she lived a very normal life. Meghan grew up in Los Angeles, California where she went to private schools as a young girl and teenager, and attended Northwestern University in Illinois for college. Of course, Prince Harry grew up in the spotlight—and taking into account the tragic death of his mother, Princess Diana, he understands just how important it is to take one’s mental health seriously. Even more important than mental health, dare I say, is the support one gets from their family—something that Princess Diana lacked, and something Harry and Meghan began to feel the lack of pretty quickly after their relationship became public.
At first, when their relationship became public, there was an uptick in cameramen circling and invasions of privacy, but that was expected. The issue came when articles in the British press started coming out with headlines like “Compton Princess.” This is not to say that being from Compton is bad, but the British press obviously meant it in a derogatory way since Compton is where a majority of Black people reside in Los Angeles. There were many other wildly inappropriate articles that were published, which will come to light if you watch the new show. And while it would be nice to say this was the end of what Meghan and Harry had to deal with, the articles barely scratch the surface.
The worst parts of their experience are the ones within the metaphorical four walls of their own home. With an unnamed royal having concerns with how dark Archie’s (Harry and Meghan’s firstborn) skin would be, to a family member wearing a blackamoor brooch that fetishizes images of slavery, to the claim that Camilla, the Queen Consort, allegedly fed negative stories to the press of Meghan in order to get the bad press off of her. This article says that being Queen was the last thing that Camilla wanted and that her only goal is to support her husband, King Charles. My rebuttal would be that anyone that keeps up with the royals knows that jealousy has always been something that has plagued King Charles. His insecure need for approval from others drove many of the issues between him and Princess Diana who was effortlessly loved by all. Knowing this, it would make sense that in order to support her husband, the future king of England, Camilla would feed bad information to the press if there was a possibility it would make her look better—and as a result, make her man look better, too.
There were also rumors that Meghan had made Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, cry at Meghan’s wedding—later, we all found out the opposite was true. There were many articles comparing the two princesses, and while Harry begged his family to do something about all the hateful and false information being put out about Meghan, nothing was done. In fact, the family took the stance that since all of them had gone through this, Harry and Meghan could get through it too. I’m sure it's true that all of the members of the royal family have had to deal with bad press at times, there is a very distinct difference between bad press and hateful language. Bad press is pictures of an outfit gone wrong. Hateful language is Jeremy Clarkson, an English broadcaster, saying, “I hate her. Not like I hate Nicola Sturgeon or Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level…at night, I’m unable to sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her.” This openly hateful comment is one of innumerable, equally bigoted comments thrown at Meghan since the beginning of her relationship with Prince Harry.
I for one am a proponent of the Royal Family in the sense that I can appreciate the history they (the royal family themselves and the United Kingdom) are trying to preserve—it is a vast and rich history after all. That being said, it is extremely disappointing to watch their downfall simply because of the customs and traditions they think are important to uphold. The list is numerous but the first one that comes to mind is the appearance that they would quickly throw one member under the bus if that meant elevating other higher members—something the couple affirm in both “Harry & Meghan” and “Spare.” In order to preserve the appearance of sovereignty and holiness, and to uphold the veil between royalty and the rest of the nation, they would rather be quiet and not say anything in defense of one another—or in the case of Camilla, feed negative information about Meghan to make herself look better. Truly the worst part of it all is that I doubt anyone still in the Royal Family, or the regulating body the Sussex’s label “The Firm,” really sees anything wrong with how they have acted up until this point—and therefore, nothing will ever change.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.