Harry & Meghan - what went wrong?

[SteveNomad]

The publicity aboutOrince Harry and Meghan withdrawing from their regular salried work as members of the Royal Family, making public appearances, and withdrawing from using their " HRH " titles - How is it exactly that H&M''s professional lifeasRoyals is considered to have gone so wrong that theyresortedto this? Was it them having done something wrong or the British general world having reacted to them so negatively that they are forced to do this?
It seemed to me that they were doing what the U.K. Royal family does - meeting soldiers & kids at charity hospitals and opening hydro-electric plants, etc. well enough.
We're some people in the UK greatly disliking them? Needless to say, I'd especially like opinion from the Brita here!!!

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

It seems Meghan was unprepared for how invasive and critical the media would be once she became a royal. The newspapers have been tearing her apart, which isn't unusual, though perhaps more so than normal because of some underlying racism in some cases. Then instead of just ignoring it which is generally the royals policy Meghan and Harry have been pushing back at the news organisations which has just been throwing fuel on the fire.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to them clearing off to wherever so the news will refocus on important events rather than inane family drama.

 

[AGXStarseed]

It seems Meghan was unprepared for how invasive and critical the media would be once she became a royal. The newspapers have been tearing her apart, which isn't unusual, though perhaps more so than normal because of some underlying racism in some cases. Then instead of just ignoring it which is generally the royals policy Meghan and Harry have been pushing back at the news organisations which has just been throwing fuel on the fire.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to them clearing off to wherever so the news will refocus on important events rather than inane family drama.

I doubt it was race related; Meghan is mixed-race (Dad is Caucasian, Mum is African-American) and to me and many people, she just looks Caucasian but with a slighter darker tone like she's had a tan. It's the same with my niece and nephew; they're mixed race but generally look more Caucasian.
As for why people don't like her, here's some of the reasons (I'll try my best not to get too political)

1. She preaches about climate change before proving her hypocrisy as she drives around in range rovers as well as travels via helicopter and private plane.

2. She's preached about equality and privilege, which again seems hypocritical considering she's one of the most privileged people on the planet, lived in a palace and is a multi-millionaire. What's more, while telling people to help her "fight poverty", she spent $1 million dollars on clothes.

3. Her issues with her family have been cause for concern - in particular all that has gone on with her dad. Also, she apparently treated her first husband so poorly when they broke up that Meghan's best friend stopped talking to her.

4. She seems to have issues following the rules that royals have to live by - not only apparently having something of a rivalry with Kate Middleton but there was a story about her getting into an argument with the Queen over Meghan wanting to wear a certain tiara.

5. She's been shown several times butting into conversations between Harry and others, talking over him - which annoys people as its a sign of bad manners.

6. When Princess Eugenie had her wedding, people accused Meghan of stealing Eugenie's moment as Meghan used that day to state that she was pregnant.

7. With Meghan and Harry leaving, the fact that they were trying to keep hold of their titles along with still receiving palace funds has led people to accuse Meghan of been a gold-digger. Even her friends said that her withdrawal from the family was "just a matter of time".

I think in the near future, Meghan will probably divorce Harry and take his kid away. Not saying it's set in stone, but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

[DuckRabbit]

First, Meghan Markle’s Sun sign is Leo, meaning she needs to be Queen Bee, call the shots and be the centre of attention. She would struggle to be compliant and rule-abiding unless it was her idea.
Megxit was always written in the stars | Daily Mail Online

I feel that because adulation wasn’t instantaneous, she threw in the towel. Was she unprepared to do good works in the absence of mass approval?

“Job satisfaction and strength of relationships: there ain’t no app for that. They are slow, meandering, uncomfortable, messy processes. […] The overall journey is arduous, long and difficult.” ~ Simon Sinek.

As @NothingToSeeHere says, why didn’t they just do the usual royal thing of accepting the opprobrium directed at them (as the inevitable shadow-side to their wealth of social status), and ignoring it? Surely that’s the first thing new royals are schooled in?

I suspect comparison with Kate was a big source of aggravation. She despaired of being in Kate’s shadow her whole life, and wasn’t prepared to play second-fiddle to that. Remember how Kate was initially criticised, upbraided and denounced left right and centre? She just put her head down (or up in her case) and carried on. Now the chaos surrounding Meghan has thrown into glaring relief Kate's royal, if not saintly, nature.

I think Meghan’s missed a great opportunity to be a role model - fulfilling royal duties and doing good works or shining the light on other people's good works. Yes, she likes adulation and applause but those types of people are needed in the world too - to act, to speak in public, to make the careers of people toiling as fashion designers hoping that one day someone prominent will wear their creations.

A way out of her dilemma would have been to appreciate her gold-plated meal-ticket (not needing to earn a living in the conventional sense, or pay off a mortgage), and devote herself to people doing good works in the world who need more recognition and funding for their causes – regardless of what the public thought of her. Her passion and conviction seems short-lived; if you have a positive passion and purpose, it should fuel you even if every person on earth ignores or hates you for it. Even when it gets cold and stony, painful and lonely, and the collective throws your offerings back in your face.

Also, a way out would have been to not do (or stop doing) all those things that @AGXStarseed enumerated. However, her personality type mitigates against this. As they say, character is destiny.

The media has debated whether the ferocity of reactions against her is due to racism, or due to her hypocritical and Marie-Antoinette-like actions. It’s amusing to watch these debates as no side seems able to concede an inch of ground to the other and admit that it’s probably a complex mix of factors.

Finally, the sniggering headlines about Harry 'touting' Meghan for a job --- I admire anyone who needs/wants work and goes cap in hand to ask for it straight up, whatever their station in life.

 

[oregano]

Meghan is a Los Angeles girl through and through. She literally grew up only a few miles from Hollywood, meaning the actual physical district of LA, not the cultural meme (although the two overlap quite a bit in western Los Angeles). Hollywood (the place) kids are generally free spirits who speak their minds freely and who constantly crave attention.

Then you have Harry, who grew up in England where the culture in general and of the royal/noble families in particular favor the "stiff upper lip" and disdain "whining" (which is spelled "whinging" in England but pronounced the same as in the US). In England you simply don't make a public spectacle out of your family problems, as Angelenos do. The English are very cautious about speaking their minds, for most of English history speaking your mind earned you a midnight visit from "the king's men" after which you were never heard from again. For centuries the peasants communicated via rhymes and poems that used imagery that was "understood" but that wouldn't draw the attention of the king's men.

So, two completely opposite cultures. An American woman who was likely fascinated with the trashy "Victorian romance" novels sold in grocery stores in the US where an anachronistically modern American woman is swept off her feet by a European duke, and carried to the Old World where she lives happily ever after. Harry, a lonely prince whose royal pedigree has been questioned for years, who comes from a totally different society but who never really fit in anywhere or was able to find a good wife.

They meet; Meghan thinks she's in one of the aforementioned novels, Harry likes her American spunk. Quick romance, marriage, baby, then it all falls apart because oil and water don't mix. Harry chooses her over his own family (or are they his family?) and country. The rag tabloids love it, but the monarchy is teetering on the abyss after one scandal too many.

 

[Judge]

Nothing "went wrong". I just see it all as "business as usual". Quite literally if you follow such events all the way back to Princess Margaret. Select members of the royal family has always been a target of the tabloid press and probably always will.

In this case they're just getting more creative about lashing back at the media. With the "men in grey" probably involved in some capacity in instigating such controversy. Civil servants in the palace who have their own vision of how the monarchy should carry themselves.

Will moving and abandoning their traditional responsibilities solve their problems? Maybe not. The tabloids on this side of the pond also love to harass celebrities whether they are royals or not.

Princess Margaret: Divorced.
Prince Charles: Divorced.
Prince Andrew: Divorced.
Prince Harry: (Final Jeopardy music is playing)

Still, it could be worse. Better for royals to be pursued by the tabloid press rather than by the Provisionals.

Perhaps the most important thing at this point is that non-British taxpayers do not pick up their tab.

 

[NothingToSeeHere]

which is spelled "whinging" in England but pronounced the same as in the US

Actually "whinging" is pronounced completely differently from "whining". They are different words though they can be used to mean the same thing.

The English are very cautious about speaking their minds, for most of English history speaking your mind earned you a midnight visit from "the king's men" after which you were never heard from again.

A stereotype which is far from true, we whinge as much as anyone else. Complaining is basically a national pastime. It isn't expected of the royal family though.

 

[tducey]

Nothing. I think they just want to live a normal life, away from the monarchy.

 

[Judge]

Nothing. I think they just want to live a normal life, away from the monarchy.

It must be a weird feeling to many of them, who in most cases are so far removed from the possibility of becoming the next monarch. A ceremonial head of state, but not government. Where simply as an accident of birth, you must submit to being a public relations icon only to uphold an expensive tradition.

Clearly it's not a job for just anyone. A lavish lifestyle, but it comes at a cost.

In memory of Willie Hamilton, M.P.

Willie Hamilton - Wikipedia

 

[Aeolienne]

1. She preaches about climate change before proving her hypocrisy as she drives around in Range Rovers as well as travels via helicopter and private plane.

So have Prince Charles and Prince William.

6. When Princess Eugenie had her wedding, people accused Meghan of stealing Eugenie's moment as Meghan used that day to state that she was pregnant.

I personally don't see what's so bad about sharing pregnancy news at a wedding. Surely there's room for more than one cause for celebration at a family event? Aside from that, I don't know Princess Eugenie personally, but I remember her saying in a pre-wedding interview that she wasn't obsessed with everything being perfect, that she never lost sight of the fact that getting married means being with the one you love and that's all that matters. Doesn't sound like someone who expected 100% of the attention to be on herself. I suspect that if that if the opposite had happened - i.e. Meghan and Harry had kept the news under wraps until the official Palace statement - there would be criticism for that as well. I could imagine the tabloids saying: "What a dysfunctional family - do they only communicate via press releases?"

 

[Bolletje]

I don’t get the immense dislike for Meghan. And I truly think she didn’t understand what she was in for when she married a prince. Wanting to take a step back and trying to get some more privacy is something I can understand. The tabloids have been vicious. I just hope they’re happy together despite everything that’s been going on.

 

[PastelPetals]

Harry never seemed to love being a royal anyway
There is so much pressure involved and not many can do it.
Plus people the tabloids where so mean to Meghan so wonder a loving husband would want to remove her from all that hate...well at least a romantic story of giving up the money and the crown for love is much more romantic than divorce so maybe it's better it worked out this way.

 

[Dylanperr]

Everything went wrong, Prince Harry look like he didn't want to be a royal anyway, so stepped down from royal duties, Meghan Markle most likely felt the same exact way as well. They likely wanted to pursue a more normal life rather than a royal life. It didn't need to become such a big scandal when they just wanted to move to Canada as well, and became a bigger problem than it needed to be, Canada for some reason had trouble with welcoming them, and didn't want to welcome a relative of the monarch of both Canada and the UK, Queen Elizabeth II, for some reason.

 

[Dylanperr]

So have Prince Charles and Prince William.

They need someway way to get around, like all of us.