In the wake of #Megxit, in which Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stood down from their roles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, there has been a deluge of media attention devoted to the couple.
Meghan, in particular, has borne the brunt of media criticism, with many in the press insinuating that she has manipulated her husband into making this drastic decision.
In the ongoing discourse surrounding the pair, the issue of racism has been raised frequently, with many asking whether the press’ negative coverage of the former Duchess was racist in nature.
Many have reacted with indignation at such a suggestion, asserting that Harry and Meghan were rounded upon for their public behaviour.
This interpretation is understandable to a certain degree – Meghan and Harry garnered a lot of justified criticism for flying on private jets, days after Harry announced that he and Meghan planned to have no more than two children to try and help the planet.
However, other members of the Royal Family have been just as hypocritical. Prince William and Kate Middleton launched a global prize to help tackle climate change last month, despite having an empty passenger plane fly 123 miles to take them up to Scotland a few months earlier.
We shouldn’t slate either couple outright. It’s clear they’re trying to use their roles as entrepreneurs to positively influence change, but it must be very difficult to abide by a consistent set of principles when you live such a peculiar lifestyle. Flying on a passenger plane full of other people would be a security nightmare, which could justify why they opt to go private – even if it’s bad for the environment.
But regardless, Harry and Meghan got a lot more flack for their double standards than William and Kate did. When it seems like the media hounds the former couple constantly, it’s clear where the accusations of racist bias stem from.
In some sense, it was a relief to hear they’d be stepping back from royal duties. Perhaps there’d be a period of media silence on them. Would Piers Morgan find something else to rant and rave about on Good Morning Britain? I hear Greggs have launched more vegan pastries…
Nope!
For reasons unclear, Good Morning Britain decided to interview Thomas Markle, Meghan’s estranged father on 27th January. Virtually everybody could see this was in bad taste – except the producers and presenters of the programme apparently.
Discussing his relationship with his daughter, Markle said, “I think it’s a misunderstanding that should be worked out, not on television, not in front of the world, but between two families.”
Er…he does realise he’s on TV talking badly about his daughter, right? To a man who has written hit piece after hit piece on his daughter?
The reasons for the breakdown in goodwill between father and daughter should remain a private family matter. Yet repeatedly, the elder Markle has taken it upon himself to make it the world’s business.
When Meghan wrote her father a deeply personal letter in August 2018, he went and sold it to The Daily Mail. The contents of that letter are now splashed all over various websites.
Is it any wonder then she hasn’t reached out to him since?
Yet the media continuously give him a platform on which to air his dirty laundry.
If ITV or Channel 5 – who recently aired the documentary Thomas Markle: My Story – had more sense, they wouldn’t still be digging up this dirt. But sadly, in a day when television viewing figures are in decline, it seems that TV networks are pushing for more tabloid-esque ‘exclusives’.
Family matters should remain private. The Royal Family are a public body, but their private interactions shouldn’t be touted as the leading stories on news programmes when so many things are going on in the world.
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