Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been at the centre of a media storm for the past few years. And the recent release of their much-publicised Netflix documentary titled Harry & Meghan means even more tongues are wagging.
As a Black woman who moved to the UK from a Commonwealth country, I’ve prided myself in not taking too much notice of the royal family, a family which in my opinion continues to benefit from the ill-gotten gains of slavery and colonialism. I’ve refrained from dedicating headspace and time to any conversations which glorify the monarchy. However, after watching the Harry and Meghan debacle unfold over the last few years, I now feel compelled to speak.
And so, this journalist who previously showed little interest in the most popular family in the UK, sat down to watch hours of footage dedicated to discussing the experiences of key members of the family. Below are my key takeaways from the first three episodes of the documentary.
Harry and Meghan Are Just Two People Who Fell In Love
Press play and the opening scenes don’t just show a beautiful family but also reveal a couple who are very much in love, living in a beautiful love story of their own making. Viewers are treated to cute never-before-seen footage of their son Archie playing and we see that they are just a normal family. It’s enough to tug at the heartstrings of even the most hardened heart.
However, getting to this act in their love story hasn’t been an easy task for the couple.
Meghan was already a self-realised, cause-driven woman with hobbies, a successful career and fast friends before she met Prince Harry. She was also a strong-willed and confident woman and it seemed that was exactly what Harry needed. “I remember thinking ‘How can I ever find someone who is willing and capable to be able to withstand all the baggage that comes from being with me,” he says.
The baggage he was referring to was the constant and overwhelming intrusion by the UK press that he had endured his whole life.
He added: “So much of what Meghan is and how she is, is similar to my Mum.” This comparison came after he spoke in detail about how his mother, the late Princess Diana stood up to harassment and spoke her truth. How could he then not fall in love with someone who, in his mind, embodied so much of who his mother was?
The UK Press Is Often Toxic And Needs To Be Held To Account
The British tabloid press exists both as a series of publications and also a mentality And it’s toxic” – Author and historian David Olusoga
In October 2016, after their relationship was made public, the princess-to-be started being viciously attacked by the media, hunted by paparazzi in the real world and vilified online.
Hostile coverage accused her of being opportunistic. Headlines such as the Daily Mail’s Harry’s girl is (almost) straight out of Compton had very negative racial undertones and the National Enquirer’s headline, Royal Shame. Meghan Markles Mom Hits The Laundromat: Prince Harry’s princess frolics in Africa while her mother toils like a peasant painted Meghan as a villain
“People are very aware of my race because they made it such an issue when I went to the UK. The UK media, I truly believe, wanted my Mum’s side of the family to be the ones all this drama could be stirred up with,” Meghan said.
“No matter how hard I tried, no matter how good I was, no matter what I did, they were still going to find a way to destroy me,” she added.
The documentary acknowledges the oft glossed-over parts of British history, the country’s relationship with race…and how that affected Harry and Meghan’s relationship.
When Meghan joined the royal family, many people of colour hoped that this black representation at such a high level heralded a change in attitudes towards race. Sadly that was not to be the case.
National attitudes toward race are often driven by the rhetoric published in national newspapers. And when this rhetoric is anti-black – however subtly – it can be extremely damaging to how people of colour and people with non-white heritage are perceived in wider society.
Meghan also suffered an alarming invasion of privacy in the weeks after her relationship with Harry was made public. She had no privacy even in her own home and neighbours were paid to put a livestream camera in her back garden.
“Dating became a combination of car chases, anti-surveillance driving and disguises, which isn’t a particularly healthy way to start a relationship,” Harry noted.
He said: “Every relationship I had, within weeks or months, was splattered all over the newspapers and that person’s family harassed and their lives turned upside down.”
And Meghan was no exception. Anyone who had ever had a relationship with Meghan was hunted down, harassed and offered payment for salacious gossip. She said she hoped and believed the situation would get better in time…but it never did.
Every journalist is expected to abide by a code of ethics. Sadly, practices like those detailed above undermines and sullies the practice of the profession.
This isn’t helped by the fact that journalism is by and by a profession dominated by white voices. As Olusoga explains: “This is a white industry. Black people are about 3.5% percent of the population and about 0.2% of journalists. People who come up with these headlines are doing so in newsrooms that are almost entirely white.
Combine that with the fact that many Black journalists struggle to make their voices heard in hostile, unwelcoming newsrooms and it’s clear there’s a problem that urgently needs to be addressed.
Not only do national publications need to be held to account for their engagement in shady practices using the gray areas as a cover, they also need to seriously examine the dangers and consequences of excluding non-white voices and take steps to be better.
Harry and Meghan Did What Any Others Would Have Done In The Same Circumstances
Harry explained that the majority of his memories as a boy were of being swarmed by paparazzi constantly, of feeling like there was no privacy and having to endure media intrusion in every part of his life. “Rarely did we have a holiday without someone with a camera jumping out of a bush or something,” he says, adding that he add to deal with intrusion even in his school years.This constant intrusion no doubt took a toll on Harry as a child and the death of his mother as a direct result of that intrusion would have left deep emotional scars. It’s no wonder then that when he saw the threat of history repeating itself, he took action.
“Anyone else in my situation would have done exactly the same thing. I accept that there’ll be people around the world who fundamentally disagree with what I’ve done and how I’ve done it. But I knew that I had to do everything I could to protect my family, especially after what happened to my Mum” he said.
However, their decision to safeguard their wellbeing was viewed unfavourably not just by the press but also by members of the royal family
Harry explained: “(Those who work for the family) want to ensure there’s constant good publicity about the royal family. The family is dependent on British media to ensure they remain well-liked. In exchange, they grant access to certain publications.”
However, when someone separates from the family and seeks to cut off that access, the press, especially the national press, embark on what is essentially a witch hunt. These publications spout hate, vitriol in an attempt to punish those who are unwilling to play ball.
Nick Collins, Meghan’s former agent explains further. “Harry and Meghan and the whole family have an obligation to perform. If they don’t, they fall out of favour and then any opportunity would be used to write negatively or highlight negativity.”
While not completely powerless in this game, the family adopts a long-suffering attitude and prefers to not respond publicly to any ill-treatment.
“The family was like everything she was being put through, they had been put through as well. It was almost a right of passage. However, there was a constant “race element” in the media’s disparaging remarks about Meghan,” Harry said.
But the royal family’s refusal to engage had its own disastrous consequences.
Meghan notes: “Unfortunately, in (the family) not standing for something, they are destroying us.”
Although they have lived lives of unparalleled privilege, William and Harry were essentially just two boys swept up in the maelstrom of the royal family’s symbiotic – almost parasitic – relationship with the intrusive UK media. They and everyone they love continue to be victims to this day.
Everyone Should Have The Right To Speak Their Truth, Including Harry And Meghan
And this is why, Harry and Meghan say, they embarked on making this documentary. It is essentially a defiant stand against all the misinformation in the public domain and the attempt by several parties to take away their agency.
“I feel as though being part of this family, it’s my duty to uncover this exploitation and bribery that happens within our media,” Harry says.
“When you feel like people haven’t got any sense of who you are for so long, it’s really nice to be able to have the opportunity to let people have a bit more of a glimpse into what’s happened and also who we are.”
“We’d never been able to tell our story. Until now.”
Harry presents as someone who realises his role in the system, admits to mistakes made and is actively trying to make things better. He has some experience of the world and an exposure to it that most people, even those in the royal family, just don’t have.
It seems he’s also shouldering responsibility for the negative impact of the media storm on Meghan’s own family.
“She sacrificed everything that she ever knew, the freedom that she had to join me in my world. And then pretty soon after that, I ended up sacrificing everything I know to join her in her world.”
For them, it’s all about their own little family. “If you bring a small person into this world, you should be doing everything you can to make the world a better place for them. What’s most important for the two of us is to make sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes our parents made.”
SophisticateQueen 