Meghan Markle, "The Difficult Duchess": How Prince Harry's Wife Turned From Heroine To Villain Of The British Tabloids
In recent months, the Duchess of Sussex has been portrayed as a villain by the British tabloids, which until two years ago had greeted her with great sympathy. They accuse her of not being able to fulfill her duties as a member of British royalty.
On July 6, Archie Harrison, the son of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, was baptized in a church near Windsor Castle. Contrary to long tradition, the event was held behind closed doors. It resulted in a new wave of criticism of Meghan, the former American actress.
What does Queen Elizabeth II think of the resignation of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?
This week, the tabloids didn't like her job as editor of the September issue of Vogue magazine. They said that to Queen Elizabeth II it would seem like an "idiotic decision" (according to the Daily Express). The Sun newspaper criticized her for not including the queen in its list of "pioneer" women and the Daily Mail warned her to stay out of politics.
For the past several months, the Duchess of Sussex has been portrayed as a villain by British tabloids.
Meghan was the personification of all the changes that had occurred in society in recent years and the world seemed to be ready for her.
Two years ago, she was greeted with great sympathy, but now Markle is attacked at all times, accused of not being able to fulfill her duties as a member of British royalty.
The perfect duchess
In the spring (boreal) of 2017, Meghan Markle was the darling of the British press. From her first public appearance, tabloids such as The Sun spoke that "Markle gave a casual image while she watched Harry play polo".
Unlike her studious older brother William, Prince Harry had previously featured in scandalous articles about drugs and wild parties, although the British press was always ready to forgive and forget.
They liked Meghan — she was the epitome of all the changes that had occurred in society in recent years — and the world seemed ready for her.
Last year, the tabloids wrote about her quirks, but they kept an affable tone. First of all, Meghan's father refused to attend her wedding, officially due to illness. Later, the queen forbade her to wear the tiara that she wanted because it was thought to be Russian-made.
They judge her on all her expensive home repairs, her appearance and her demeanor in public.
In the context of the scandal of Sergei Skripal, the ex-spy who the UK believes was poisoned by Russian agents, the royal family decided to avoid possible negative associations on the wedding day.
However, in the spring and summer of this year, despite the birth of Meghan and Harry's first child, she became one of the most criticized people in the British tabloids.
She is now on trial for everything from her expensive home repairs, to her appearance, behavior in public and even her use of her social media.
The ideal target
In June, the press attacked the royal couple over renovation costs for Frogmore Cottage, their new home built on the grounds of Windsor Castle. The renovations amounted to US $ 3 million, all of them paid for with public funds.
We suggest reading also: The exclusive mansion that Dolce and Gabbana are selling in Italy due to financial problems
Citing a source close to the royal family, the Daily Express said that a week after moving in, the couple had already laid out a "luxurious carpet." One of the family's dogs had spoiled her, and the cleaners further damaged her while trying to save her.
According to those reports, the family "was unfazed" by the additional costs of the replacement.
More controversy followed the story of her engagement ring. Much was said about the fact that the original ring was designed by Prince Harry himself. It contained three stones; two diamonds from his mother, Princess Diana, and another from Botswana, where the couple spent their first vacation together.
A year after the wedding, Meghan decided to redesign it, adding two more diamonds and - according to the press - making Harry's gesture lose meaning.
Afterward, there was an avalanche of resignations. First, Meghan's personal assistant, Melissa Toubat, resigned in fall 2018. Then, there was another resignation from Queen Elizabeth II's own former personal assistant, Samantha Cohen.
Finally, in March 2019, came another personal assistant, Amy Pickerill, who was assigned to Meghan Markle from the start. His job was to help her integrate into the royal family.
Employees gave her two nicknames: "Me-gain" and "The Difficult Duchess" for raising her voice and sending emails first thing in the morning.
Now Meghan is under fire for firing three babysitters in just one month. According to the tabloids, employees gave her two nicknames - "Me-gain" and "The Difficult Duchess" - for constantly raising her voice and emailing her requests first thing in the morning.
The birth of their first child in May 2019 did not help improve the image of the family for some tabloids, which always carry out severe scrutiny of the royal family.
Harry and Meghan chose to post the first photos of the newborn on Instagram, about which the Daily Mirror said: "(The fans) They don't want an artistic photo of Archie's foot at three days. They are very stylized images. People just want to. Seeing Harry, Meghan, the baby in his nightgown and the groomsmen, that's all. It's traditional. There's nothing wrong with being traditional when it comes to a royal baby. "
The list of complaints grows more and more.
In early July, Archie Harrison's christening was added to that list.
Neither journalists nor members of the public were allowed to attend the traditionally public event. The couple apologized and promised to post photos later. To that, the Telegraph responded with a column titled: "Open letter to Meghan: Why the secrecy over Archie's christening? It hurts us Brits."
Buckingham Palace had no comment.
"The life of the royal family is, on the one hand, palaces and fame, but its main difference from the life of the stars is that it is also a responsibility. You cannot get on a plane and disappear for the weekend. This life has rules, "says Jonny Dymond, a British Royal House correspondent for the BBC.
"Their faces on the front pages help sell newspapers, and Meghan Markle is the most important part"
Royals are not supposed to have arguments in public, but Megan and Prince Harry were once seen having an "intense conversation." Nor should they sign autographs, although Meghan is delighted to do so.
Meghan seems to have decided to change all the rules and there are those who hate that.
"The most important thing to know about the British royal family is that it is not so much about leadership, but about creating the perfect image that every citizen is dying to see," continues Dymond.
"As things are now, even though it was not intended at all, the family has become an industry of world celebrities. There is the queen - a model of stability, service and sacrifice - and there are other characters who also they have duties of royalty, albeit smaller. "
"Their faces on the front pages help sell newspapers, and Meghan Markle is the most important part."
According to Dymond, the tabloids are partly responsible for creating Meghan's public image. "The story started when she came here. They need to continue that narrative," he says.
At the same time, it's hard to ignore the constant barrage of negative stories about the Duchess. "We saw how demanding she was. We saw that she liked to spend money the way she wanted. That was superimposed on the fact that she came from a different context, and that's how her current image emerged," she explains.
Although Harry is only sixth in line to the British throne and unlikely to become king, Meghan can't help but be compared to her sister-in-law, Kate.
The perfect villain
Pitting one family member against another is a tabloid technique often used to create conflict.
From the 1960s to the 1980s, Queen Elizabeth II is said to have performed her work flawlessly. Instead, her sister, Princess Margaret, had a lover, smoked, and was often seen consuming alcohol, attending parties, and was even photographed in a bathing suit.
In the 1980s, the press loved Princess Diana's modesty, but she couldn't stand her friend Sarah Ferguson, who became Duchess of York.
Ferguson later admitted that she struggled with a severe depression when newspapers began calling her "Duchess of pork" because of her excess weight.
Now the media are pitting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle against Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Kate is defined as impeccable and a woman "born to be a mother." But when talking about Meghan, this line of Prince Philip is often quoted: "One should only date actresses, not marry them."
The most recent split between the two families had to do with a charity. In June, Harry and Meghan announced that they would stop participating in the Royal Foundation founded by Prince William. They were going to create their own foundation to focus on different things.
So it was no longer just about Meghan, but about the conflict between two brothers and two families from the royal court.
"We should not think that this whole story is harmful to Markle," warns Johnny Dymond. "For decades, members of the royal family had to prove their ability to live under pressure and face blows" -
"Simply, as a nation and as citizens we project onto the royal family what we want to see in ourselves," he continues. "They captivate our imagination and at the same time they are the reflection of our image. It says a lot about us that we are so biased in these stories."
