Either way, Meghan is to blame, and it's because of her race.
From the moment that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made their relationship known to the public in 2016, the message that many Brits sent him was clear:
You are not one of us and you are not welcome.
Meghan, a divorced and biracial American actress, was far from what many envisioned as a fairytale encounter for a beloved member of the British royal family. While welcomed by many in the UK, the British tabloid media, and a large part of the Twitter universe, were not kind.
From her It got so bad that Kensington Palace issued a statement scolding the press about her treatment of her.
Now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as Harry and Meghan are formally known, are again the subject of all kinds of comments. The couple's announcement that they are distancing themselves from the royal family has been met with surprise and anger by many in England and beyond.
Suddenly, the message for Meghan has changed from "Why are you here?" to "Where do you think you are going?"
And again, some observers think racism is partly to blame.
"It was never going to end well," said Kehinde Andrews, associate professor of sociology at Birmingham City University, who launched Europe's first black studies degree.
'The British royal family is one of the main symbols of whiteness in the world. It was never going to be fully accepted.
Markle's 'audacity' threatens some people
While Meghan identifies as biracial, she is being treated as a black woman. Every black woman, including me, knows what that means. When it comes to the world, your whole being is filtered through the color of your skin.
We have all heard the comments. You're pretty for a black girl. "You speak very well".
And if you dare to go beyond an imaginary line of demarcation, you are seen as "optimistic."
The reaction to Meghan's desire to try to build a new life with her husband "reinforces the stereotype that black women are destructive, divisive and dissatisfied," says Nsenga Burton, a professor at Emory University in Atlanta who specializes in the intersection of race, class, gender and media.
Burton told CNN that it is easy to see why black women have supported Meghan, because they are reflected in the way they are treating her.
"People are great with black women as long as we get along," she said. "As soon as we start defending ourselves and saying, 'This is not working for me,' we become the problem."
Natasha Eubanks, founder and editor of TheYBF.com, a black celebrity site that has covered the royal couple, agrees.
"Having the audacity, because that's what it is, to exhibit self-sovereignty has always been a privilege reserved for men, especially white men," she told CNN. "Yet here is Meghan exhibiting this‘ boldness ’and she is being… propelled by a white man who happens to be her husband."
Eubanks argues that Prince Henry by presenting a united front with his spouse "provokes the people" because he places "a white prince of royal blood and a black American commoner" on an equal footing.
"That image does not sit well with everyone because of how they have been conditioned to see women and people of color, whether they realize it or not."
Critics blame her for the couple's decision
As a black woman, it has been irritating to see how Meghan has been treated.
Not only because racism hurts, but also because she gives the feeling that we are not even allowed to enjoy the fairy tale.
The prince in this story did not kill dragons, but instead had to face the British tabloids and a society where class supposedly triumphs over race, even when racism remains a problem.
Andrews says that the British press coverage of Meghan has been "horrible", and is not surprised that she is blamed for what many consider a rift in the royal family.
From the memes that say: "Prince Harry married a black woman and she made him move out of his mother's house," to journalist Piers Morgan tweeting that Meghan "abandoned her family, abandoned her father, abandoned her Most of her old friends separated Enrique from Guillermo and now separated him from the royal family, 'a narrative has formed that the Duchess was the driving force in the decision.
That's unfair, says Andrews, who believes people are forgetting that Prince Henry has been outspoken about his desire not to be a senior member of royalty.
"He always wanted to do his thing," Andrews told CNN. Even in his insistence on marrying a black woman, he knew what he was doing. This has given him a good start.
Some observers believe Prince Harry is extra-protective of Meghan because of how the media treated her mother, the late Princess Diana, towards the end of her life.
"She Apparently she never recovered from the anguish that she saw her pass into the hands of the British press and critics," Eubanks said. "He seems to have vowed never to let that happen to his wife and his children."
In October last year, Harry publicly complained about the British tabloid treatment of Meghan, who gave birth to the couple's son Archie in May.
“Unfortunately, my wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press campaigning against people without thinking about the consequences, a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising babies. our newborn son, "he said.
When Harry and Meghan announced their engagement, many in the UK announced the news - a biracial woman joining the royal family - as a welcome step towards racial harmony.
But Andrews said she was not among them.
Like Barack Obama, he said, the Duchess is "someone who looks like progress but really isn't."
As duchess she has not made race a problem. Others yes
The couple's royal wedding in 2018 featured a black minister and music by a black cellist and a gospel choir. But aside from a few token touches, Meghan, the Duchess, hasn't given much reason to be linked to racial issues.
"She hasn't even spoken openly about race," Andrews said. "She is proof that you don't have to do or say anything to be attacked."
For Meghan, this must be all the more daunting given that, according to her, for years many people had no idea that she was a woman of color.
In a 2012 video for the charity Erase The Hate, the then-actress said that "much of my life I have felt like a fly on the wall" because people didn't know she was biracial.
“I am really proud of my heritage on both sides. I'm really proud of where I come from and where I'm going, ”she said. But yeah, by the time I have kids, I hope people have an even more open mind about how things are changing and that having a mixed world is what it's all about. It certainly makes it much more beautiful and much more interesting.
