Meghan Markle Exposes the Decay of the British Empire
The British court wasted an opportunity to redress Britain's reputation, which was historically deeply racist.
Everyone thought it was bad. Everyone hopes it's destructive. However, no one could have expected that Oprah Winfrey's interviews with Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry would be so bad and destructive.
During a two-hour interview that aired on Sunday, Meghan said that when she was pregnant with her son Archie, there were palace conversations and worries about how dark her skin was. She also stated that once she and Harry took a step back from royal duties in 2019, they were told they would receive no security details - even as Meghan wrote a letter to the royal family pleading for protection for her son and Harry. Throughout the session, Harry emphasized disappointment at the lack of support offered to his wife by her own family, even as she was plagued by racism and division from the press.
Perhaps most disappointing of all, Meghan attempted suicide, because she thought it would "solve everything for everyone." When he went to the palace's human resources team, he was told, "There is nothing we can do to help you because you are not a paid member of the institution."
There is no doubt whatsoever: This is racism, serious and potentially deadly racism, at the top of Britain and the Commonwealth, but it doesn't have to be this way.
Meghan Markle, Britain's first black daughter, offers an opportunity to heal Britain's brutal and complex relationship with race problems. That opportunity was severely crushed by the racism of the royal party itself.
For much of the black community in Britain, Meghan Markle's marriage to Prince Harry marks a moment where there is undeniably a new assimilation. For black Britons who have borne the brunt of the British Empire for centuries, marriage suggests that their community has finally made its way through every corridor of British society - and to its endless potential.
Part of that is the aristocratic power itself. Even on the international stage, and across the African diaspora, the British monarchy has long been admired, loved and respected. Nels Abbey, Foreign Policy says, her mother from Nigeria still has the commemorative plate of Princess Diana and Prince Charles on July 29, 1981 hanging on the wall of her West London home. He regularly polishes it with pride. Abbey happened to be in Lagos, Nigeria in 1997 when Diana died. Britain remembers immense grief at the time of her death, but more than 3,000 miles away she saw adult men and women grieving, as if members of their own family had died.
For black women in particular, Meghan's arrival at Buckingham Palace was a truly extraordinary moment. Black women became part of the family. Abbey then wondered aloud: Will the helicopter land in London's Peckham or Seven Sisters neighborhoods so that Meghan can buy hair and skin care products? Will she be allowed to appear natural, or will royal protocol require her to straighten her hair? Will he be allowed to talk about black issues? When something happens in the community, can it be a voice for us?
Some of them were joking, but the thinking was clear: Will she be allowed to be herself, a woman of color? After Meghan's interview, they now have convincing answers to their overarching questions.
Meghan and Harry's marriage should bring the nation closer and give Britain a huge boost to soft power — one that highlights a country confident enough to embrace black American women into the heart of its own power, and to appreciate what she represents. On the contrary, what happened was just the opposite. The royal orientation changed from working to defend Meghan from press hostility, lies, and harassment, forbidding her from defending herself from attacks, to directing the press against her. This is much worse.
A split within the company itself resulted in Meghan and Harry actually fleeing the country, and fully retiring from royal life. When they appeared on CBS with Winfrey on Sunday night, the program set the narrative, depicting photos of a young couple trapped, suffocated and left unprotected by the company. The kingdom has first tried to retake the narrative from the television interview by revealing in the Times that Meghan was alleged to have been the subject of a bullying complaint for two years - then claiming they would carry out an unprecedented investigation.
Every black person at work knows this all too well. This is a common tactic for organizations that feel reputational vulnerability or brand damage due to their own internal racism to attack disadvantaged ethnic minorities, writes Foreign Policy.
It is common practice to label racist targets as aggressive, bullying, intimidating, or incompetent, especially if they are clearly not one of the above. Unfortunately, it's quite effective. Like many dog whistles, this whistle is heard and understood by the right ear. Meghan's representatives responded to complaints that resurfaced last week, labeling them "a smear campaign that is counted on the basis of misleading and dangerous information".
Meghan and Harry are the perfect union to help expand the relevance of the monarchy and extend the reign of the House of Windsor for a long time. They may not be candidates for kings and queens, but without a doubt, they are the future of the monarchy. Especially with Meghan's political progress, self-empowerment, and fiery intelligence at the center. The amazing qualities that should have made Meghan a member of the royal family have resulted in her being eliminated.
The palace investigation of Meghan ignores far more serious allegations against other members of the royal family - including criminal charges - such as Prince Andrew's relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Given Meghan's status as the only person of color in the royal family apart from her son, the court's actions need not attack their own credibility and further amplify Meghan and Harry's revelations in Sunday night's interview with Winfrey.
Indeed, Meghan's powers on paper and her interpretation by the royal family and the British media have in practice been the perfect foreigner. It all boils down to one problem that remains England's weakness: race.
Racism is so ingrained in British society that attempts to inform and educate people about it or at least reduce the harm caused by racism is often seen as an attack on British society and history itself.
