Why does Meghan Markle call the British royal family The Firm?
In Meghan and Harry's interview with Oprah, the Duchess of Sussex referred to the British Royal family as "The Firm" (the company). Meghan used the term when she said: "I don't know how they can hope after all this, we are still silent if any active role The Firm plays in spitting the falsehoods about us (Meghan and Prince Harry)." This part of the interview takes place before Harry joins Meghan, when host Oprah Winfrey speaks to the Duchess alone.
The interview was broadcast after Britain's Buckingham Palace confirmed it would be investigating claims reported on Tuesday (2/3/2021) about bullying at Kensington Palace, the home of the two couples. A statement on Wednesday (3/3/2021) said: "Thus our human resources team will look into the circumstances outlined in the article (intimidation)." Launching The independent on Monday (8/3/2021), Meghan has denied the claim and said she was "saddened" to hear the accusations.
What is meant by The Firm?
The Firm is literary defined as "an organization that sells or produces something or that provides services people pay for." The British royal family has long been given this ambiguous title by the media. In 2005, Royal Family Biographer Penny Juror published a book called The Firm: The Trigled Life of the House of Windsor. This book examines how the royal family operates as a business entity. Juror claims Prince Philip has also given his family as The Firm. In fact, the title he used when he first married Elizabeth, and joined the British Royals.
"The House of Windsor (British Royal family) is big business. Even though one," this company "has more turmoil than the stock market," according to the book. Prince Philip also called the "company" including all royal executives and their powerful relatives. The group will do everything it can to avoid the slightest scandal that could tarnish the reputation of the family business. The British Royal Family does have a large amount of financial power. In 2019, Forbes magazine estimated that the Queen's net worth was equivalent to US $ 500 million (Rp 7.2 trillion) .
In the past, Diana, the Princess of Wales, also referred to the British royal family as simply a business. In an interview he described: "The day I walked down the aisle at St Paul's Cathedral, I felt my personality was taken away from me, and I was taken over by the royal machine." This term has also been used in popular culture to describe the monarch's family. In 2010, the Oscar-nominated film The King's Speech depicts Colin Firth's King George VI, saying: "We're not a family, we're a company." A documentary about the BBC's family aired from 2007 to 2008, also blatantly labeled it “Inside The Firm”.
Who belongs to the company?
So far, the term should have been used by the royal family within the kingdom's internal sphere, never being used publicly. So Meghan's use of the term has come under scrutiny. Last year, the Mirror reported that the Queen had formed a "new company." It consists of eight Royals (including himself) who will make a public appearance. This group, which includes William and Kate, Charles and Camilla, Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Princess Anne.
This group did not include Prince Andrew who stepped down from his role after the BBC Newsnight interview. Nor does Prince Philip, who retired from royal duties in 2017, and Harry and Meghan, who have announced they are stepping down from royal duties.
