Why Meghan Markle crystallizes so much anger and hate in the UK
The Duchess of Sussex and wife of Prince Harry is at the heart of the most bitter criticisms after their decision to distance themselves from the monarchy, but also since his arrival in the royal family.
ROYAL FAMILY - Since the shocking announcement of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, criticism of the British couple has never stopped raining. But it is mainly the Duchess of Sussex who crystallizes the anger of some Britons at this decision. We are also talking about Megxit, a term that places the actress alone at the heart of this crisis.
“People say I'm too critical of Meghan Markle, but she's abandoned her family, her father, most of her old friends, separated Harry from William, and now she's keeping him away from the royal family,” said British TV presenter Piers Morgan wrote on Twitter.
On Twitter, Archie’s mother is accused of being selfish and manipulative. The British press is not to be outdone, according to Sonia Delesalle-Stolper, correspondent for the newspaper Liberation, interviewed by Franceinfo: “It is a veritable concert of recriminations against this couple deemed ungrateful, and these criticisms are mainly aimed at Meghan. We read outraged comments about this American, who would have been welcomed with open arms and who today dares to break free from the royal shackles, ”she explains.
Three years of harassment
These attacks against the Duchess of Sussex do not date from January 9, however, far from it.
In 2016, when the couple was not yet married, Prince Harry had written a statement in which he called on the media and Internet users to stop the “racist and sexist” attacks against the one with whom he then formalized his relationship. More recently, in October 2019, he filed a complaint against Associated Newspapers - the parent company of the Daily Mail in particular - and denounced a "ruthless campaign" against his wife.
Since joining the royal family, Meghan Markle has always been wrong. Her actions and actions are watched, she does too much or not enough, unlike Kate Middleton, perfect from all points of view, and of which the Duchess of Sussex would obviously be jealous.
The decision to settle in Windsor and leave Kensington Palace, the decision to refuse television cameras at the christening of their son or even his invitation as editor-in-chief of the September issue of Vogue, are all criticisms made to Meghan Markle, according to the correspondent of Liberation.
According to her, “this press does not support well that this woman does not comply with the rules of discretion, unwritten but well established of royal life: she claims her African-American origins, married at 35, and already had a career and notoriety of her own, before meeting her husband ”.
Between sexism and racism, the “misogynist”
But behind these relentless attacks certainly lurks a much sadder reality, that of latent sexism and racism that the royal couple now seem to be choosing to avoid by moving across the Atlantic for part of the year.
“It is undeniable that Meghan Markle has been subjected to the racism of certain press articles, but also to this intersection between racism and sexism which is called 'misogynist'”, argues Jess Brammar, editor-in-chief of HuffPost in the United Kingdom . “The usual tropes of her being difficult, overly emotional, aggressive with staff all have deep implications that I'm sure too many black women know,” she continues.
For Nadine White, also a reporter for HuffPost in London, over the past three years the Duchess “has been the subject of a disproportionately high number of critical, sexist and sometimes racist forums. Part of the media targets her because she is not white. Others blame it for being 'different'. After all, she is a mixed race woman with a black mother, ”she explains.
Recall, for example, that the Daily Mail has already called Meghan Markle's DNA "exotic". It has been called “uppity”, an English word with a racist connotation. His son, Archie, has been compared to a chimpanzee by a BBC radio presenter. He was fired after this racist tweet. “The racist treatment of Meghan has been impossible to ignore,” concludes in a New York Times column Afua Hirsch, author of the book “Brit (ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging”. For her, there is no doubt that it was racism that drove the Duchess out the door. “This level of abuse is constant and unprecedented,” Nadine White told HuffPost.
Working class and American
The journalist believes that factors other than racism must be taken into account in order to understand the extent of the criticisms leveled against Meghan Markle. “This is also a class issue, given her roots in the working class, and I have no doubt that her nationality as an American woman with different sets of norms and values than those of the family royal has contributed, in large part, to friction with certain media, the public and perhaps even the royal family, ”she said.
Are these criticisms the trigger for the couple's distance? It's hard to be sure, but Nadine White would be "surprised if that wasn't one of the contributing factors."
Fortunately, not all Britons reacted so badly to the royal couple's announcement. The writer Bernardine Evaristo, for example, is delighted: “dear Meghan, my sister, will do what you have to do with your family and flee this racial hatred with which you are confronted in my country”, has t - she writes on Twitter.
For Jess Brammar, if the royal couple is a source of division within the United Kingdom, one thing is certain: “they are extremely popular with many people, in particular the young people and progressives who do not like the monarchy in general. . Many are in favor of their decision to leave the country and step back from the monarchy. ”
