How to make the irrelevant relevant — a story about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
In my humbe opinion, the biggest problem that Meghan and Harry face is that they are irrelevant, and they want to be the biggest ….. (fill in the blank) in the world.
B-list actress (Meghan) marries “spare” (Harry) of the royal family.
Where do they go from there?
Their plan was, I believe, to become the People’s Royal Couple, bigger than William and Kate (the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) and to have their own court in the UK. Rumours suggest that they proposed that idea, as well as numerous ways to “modernize” the Royal Family, and this was dismissed by the Queen.
Funnily enough, the modernization had already been done by the Queen when she took her father’s place and was crowned on June 2nd, 1953. She has been a strong leader, who conducts herself with poise, intelligence, determination, and tact. She has also been able to distinguish herself among numerous leaders and politicians (most of whom are male, by the way). However, she was not chosen by Meghan as one of the 15 most influential, trailblazing change-makers in the Vogue magazine she edited in 2019. Instead, the majority of “change-makers” were celebrities.
That says a lot, doesn’t it?
The gall of this arrogant, self-absorbed, unaware pair to believe that they had anything authentic and worthy to offer to the UK or the world is staggering. If it wasn’t for their trump cards of racism and mental health problems, they would have been dismissed ages ago and they would have been understood to be the grifters and opportunists they really are.
2020 was a truly dismal year for the majority of the world; deaths, job loss, homelessness, loss of businesses, etc. were the primary concerns of most people. However, this couple left the Royal Family in March of that year, pouting and whinging because they couldn’t do or say what they wanted, without criticism or judgement, and because their greatness wasn’t being recognized in the toxic enviroment (the UK) they had been forced to endure.
It should be kept in mind, however, that Harry has repeatedly claimed that he and Meghan had wanted to step back a little from their official duties and to live a life that continued to honor their duties. Their lives were to be split between the UK and the US, but they did not want to leave their positions as senior members of the Royal Family. They were loyal to the Queen and they wanted to continue to serve her as she saw best, he insisted, but they wanted to have more control over what duties they did and what the press was allowed to print about them.
They also wanted to retain the word “royal” in their marketing efforts, to keep their titles and their patronages, and to maintain their ties to the royal family while striving for a normal life (with “appropriate” UK-sponsored privacy protection for themselves and Archie) and concurrently pursuing financial independence.
For the past year, Meghan and Harry have displayed little concern for the upheaval in the UK or in the world due to the pandemic or to the very real losses many people have suffered. Their main focus has been, it seems, to make people aware of them as leaders, as philanthropists, as the best rulers of the UK (in exile), and as our voices. Their new court has been firmly established as the court of public opinion, which, in many ways, is a very powerful court as long as the public opinion is favourable.
Unfortunately, their endless woke preaching about climate change, internet bullying, and systemic racism, to name but a few of their bandwagons, is viewed as hypocritical in the extreme by a vast segment of the population and world because of their policy of “do as I say, not as I do”. Furthermore, their awareness of what really matters to ordinary people who are not affluent, powerful, titled, etc. is hopelessly inadequate because the couple appears to put power, position, and influence before family and responsibility or duty, and they expect the public not to point that out.
Since the airing of the now infamous Oprah interview with Meghan and Harry on March 7th of this year when the couple dropped several bombshells which were designed to do maximum damage to the Royal Family, to “The Firm”, and to anybody who hasn’t dropped to their knees and worshiped at the divine altar of Meghan and Harry, people have lined up to either defend and support the couple or to lambaste them as being two privileged people who already have more than most, but who want even more.
The criticisms have come from a few Royal experts (Angela Levin, for example), several respected journalists and commentators (Piers Morgan, Megyn Kelly, Alan Jones, Mike Graham, for example) and some podcasters (“According to Taz” and “Danja Zone”, for example) who have closely studied the antics of the Royal Family over the years. The unwavering support has come from Hollywood celebrities, personal friends of Harry and Meghan, and all of the woke, Left-wing proponents who are so prevalent today.
The UK citizens and the many members of the UK press were slandered in 2020 as being inherently, systemically racist and toxic, and they have had a hard time shedding that label. Now, the dynamic duo, who had little new to contribute during the 2 hour interview, reminded people of their hardshiips, justified all the self-serving, ungrateful, hypocritical things they have done over the last couple of years by placing the blame on EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING ELSE and then once again claiming their abiding love and respect for the Queen.
Claiming her mental health problems, which included suicidal thoughts, were ignored by The Firm, Meghan scored a direct hit. Then when she mentioned that the color of her unborn baby’s skin was discussed in a family gathering, she scored another vastly more serious direct hit. This time, the hit was ingeniously vague but viscerally offensive enough to damn all of the Royal Family members. It was also heresay because the comments or discussion involved Harry and he implied it had only happened once, as opposed to Meghan’s recollection of it occuring several times.
It should be pointed out that mental health problems should never to be ignored or dismissed, but it does seem strange for this to have happened considering that Mental Health has been a topic that has been much discussed and supported by the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. There was even a Mental Health awareness campaign called Heads Together in May 2016 sponsored by Prince William, Prince Harry, and Catherine (the Duchess of Cambridge) to encourage public and private conversations about mental health concerns.
Heads Together existed before Meghan appeared on the scene and this was a much publicized, ongoing concern and issue that was highlighted when Prince William, Prince Harry, and Catherine broadcast an unprecedented and very personal discussion of their individual stressors (motherhood for Kate, being an air ambulance pilot for William, and his reaction to Princess Diana’s death and the resulting turmoil for Harry) in April 2017.
Mental Health was also stressed in 2020 with the creation of Our Frontline. This is an initiative that focuses on the mental health of the frontline workers who have been coping with the trauma and stress of Covid-19 and it provides 24 hour support. It was also started by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Catherine), and backed by the Royal Foundation.
Does it make sense that the Royal Family or The Firm would dismiss Meghan’s mental health issues and claim that this would reflect badly on the Royal Family?
With regards to the racism bomb, the day after the interview, Oprah aired a clarification that Prince Harry had made an “off camera” statement, assuring her that it wasn’t his grandparents who had uttered that racial slur about Archie’s skin colour. Presumably, either Harry or Oprah had at least a smiggen of awareness left to realize that they had gone too far by implying that the Queen or Prince Philip had made these comments, especially in light of not having any corroborating evidence. Slander is a dangerous thing, especially when you are the one accused of it.
But here’s the problem: the whole interview seemed to be more of a personal vendetta than a reality check or the couple finally being able to “voice their truth”.
These two (Meghan and Harry) are not fact checked, are they? They can and do say whatever they want to and hundreds of people automatically believe them, without requiring any proof to back it up. Are the members of the Royal Family going to go on air and dispute their claims? Will anyone believe them? The Meghan and Harry supporters will just say, “Well, what else do you expect them to say? They’re just covering themselves and trying to avoid the negative publicity.”
No-one wants to be accused or suspected of racism and sometimes that gives the accuser(s) a weapon that can be used time and time again. Racist thoughts are much harder to discern and prove than racist actions and Meghan has garnered an incredible amount of support by playing the race card once again.
This time, however, the ripple effects are being felt not only in the Royal Family but in many Commonwealth countries as well, such as Barbados and Canada, where the citizens are questioning whether or not they want to be part of such a racist organization or community. To have such power, to be able to defame and discredit the British Royal Family with impunity, and to do it without any definite proof is horrifying!
It is disheartening to note that the vocal critics of the interview with Oprah have received considerable backlash. Piers Morgan (Former, as of March 9th, co-host of Good Morning Britain ) was put in a position where he felt his only choice was to resign because he was asked to apologize to Meghan when he was brave enough to say that he didn’t believe a word out of her mouth and he defended it as his personal opinion. He highlighted the fact that her claim that Archie not being given the title of “Prince Archie” was down to racism is a complete falsehood. This is the protecol going back to King George V in 1917. Both Meghan and Harry would have known this.
Alan Jones, a commentator for Sky News Australia, also expressed his doubts about the interview and added that it was incredibly divisive and damning for the British monarchy. He said something along the lines of “Hold on a second, Meghan is being judged on her actions and words, rather than her skin color or race! And Harry is being judged on his hypocritical, disloyal, self-serving actions (such as ditching a military memorial ceremony to go to the Lion Cub premier and recommend his B-list wife as a voice-over potential to Bob Iger or flying around the world on private jets while admonishing others to reduce their carbon footprints, to name a couple of examples) not as a caring, concerned husband protecting his victimized wife” (summary paraphrasing).
If people were to close their eyes and see Meghan’s actions and words coming from Duchess Catherine, for example, what would they say or think about this person? Would the bullying allegations (backed up by emails and victim disclosures) then be given the credence it deserves? Would her doing incredibly narcissistic things like blocking off rows of seats at the Wimbledom stadium in July 2019 to prevent fellow attendees from potentially speaking to her or taking her picture be seen differently? Would her refusal to go to Balmoral Castle to spend the summer with the Queen on the grounds that baby Archie was too young to travel then flying off to visit Elton John in Ibiza and Nice be seen as questionable and frankly insulting to the Queen? Would her spending almost a million dollars on clothes that she has worn once (or maybe twice in rare circumstances) be seem as wasteful and not as racist criticism?
During the ITV documentary “An African Journey” broadcast in October 2019, the couple were touring Southern Africa, a place beset by poverty, violence, abuse/rape of young girls and women, and various other dismal conditions. They were meant to highlight the causes and issues they claim to care about most. However, Meghan and Harry took that opportunity, surrounded by people who are in horrible situations, unimaginable by most, to talk about their own problems, including Harry’s reaction to cameras and lights, and Meghan’s abandonment by the Palace — apparently, nobody had asked or was asking how she was doing.
Perhaps they really did highlight what they cared about most: themselves.
Is it just me, or was that interview an indication that the two are completely unaware of reality or accepted priorities? They give the strongest impression of lacking basic understanding and awareness of others and their misery. Tell me, if Meghan hadn’t been a biracial woman, would anyone have supported this obscenity?
In my lifetime, and in my career, I have met a large number of strong, independent, socially-conscious, compassionate Black women, who “walk the walk and talk the talk”. They are do-ers in the best sense of the word, and they live their lives according to high moral standards. They are worthy of being princesses and duchesses, if that is important in this world. The Royal Family would have been blessed to have had one of them join them.
What I mean to say is, any one of them would have been a strong voice for Black and non-Black women; they would have brought awareness and support to many causes and issues, and they would have been exemplary role models and leaders. As Martin Luther King Jr. so famously said: “I want my four children to be judged by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin.”
That is exactly how Meghan should be judged.
She is not a role model or a leader. That requires dedication, conviction, loyalty, duty, awareness of the needs of others, selflessness, etc. These are characteristics that seem to be notably lacking in Meghan. They also seem to be quite lacking in Harry, it must be said.
A particularly astute commentator on Sky News Australia pointed out several things about Harry, the interview, and Archie’s title. He noticed the juxtaposition or linking of Meghan’s claims that the as yet unborn Archie was going to be denied security, a title, and position with her recollection of the discussion about what colour Archie’s skin would be. It was heresay, of course, because she had not been privy to that discussion; it had been discussed in Harry’s presence only.
Harry “heroically” and “loyally” refused to expose the person who said this when prompted by Oprah. To his supporters, this was obviously intended as protection for a beloved member of his family, but it could also be said that naming the person (if he or she really existed) would be opening him up to potential slanderous charges. However, as the Queen said in her statement: as saddened as the Royal Family is by Meghan and Harry’s distress, “recollections may vary”.
Nevertheless, the accusations of discrimination and racism served several purposes. First, it completely discredited the Royal Family and potentially destroyed their power base. Second, it strongly implied that the reason Archie was not given security and a title was rooted in racism (not royal protecol). Third, it might conceivably force the Royal Family into giving in to public opinion and giving Archie his “rightful title” as the great grandson of Queen Elizabeth II (even though Meghan claims that is not the important issue in all of this). Finally, Meghan and Harry have been given their voices back and have proclaimed for one and all to see their true status as victims who have been hurt in every imaginable way by the UK and the Firm as well as by some members of the Royal Family.
So, to return to my opening statement: how do you make the irrelevant (Meghan and Harry) relevant? Hire a great PR company, schedule an interview with a billionnaire (Oprah), blacken the Royal Family and the Firm to make yourself look blameless and victimized, but above all, don’t let people realize you are shallow, self-absorbed, and vindictive. In other words, don’t let people see your true selves or else the gig will be up.
Unfortunately for the couple, the gig is truly up where Harry is concerned.
Meghan was not born into the Royal Family. Even though, ideally, she should have some loyalty or regard for the family she married into, that is not always the case with in-laws. And it seems apparent that it is definitely not the case with Meghan.
However, Harry is a different matter. He is expected to behave honourably, to have some measure of love and respect for his grandparents, his father, his brother and sister-in-law (who he has often described as a beloved sister), his nephews and niece, his cousins, etc. It is after all HIS family, not Meghan’s. And he is also expected to deal with family matters and personal slights in- house, in a private way.
It seems obvious that the Oprah interview has served to ridicule, slander, and defame his family. Harry and his wife’s words have truly damned the Royal Family and made countless people in the UK, the US, and around the world question if the Royal Family is inherently racist and if they deliberately ignored Meghan’s mental health and endangered her life.
This interview, which had both Harry’s approval and participation, brings Harry’s intentions and motivations into question and makes him seem morally suspect: because if a person does not have integrity and loyalty and gratitude, what kind of person is he?
Rather irrelevant, wouldn’t you say?
