Posted on 03/08/2021 7:56:39 AM PST by Kaslin
The interview was loaded with apparent revelations. But there's absolutely no way around the he-said-she-said dynamic that characterizes this conflict.
Regardless of how many sit-down interviews they grant or how real their reality show gets, we’re destined to observe the royal family from afar. Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, which aired Sunday night, ostensibly peeled back the curtain on their troubled relationship with the House of Windsor.
Of course, we don’t actually know that it did anything of the sort. The newly minted Californians coordinated the primetime special to tell their side of the story. That’s how this goes. According to Harry and Meghan, who left their roles as senior members of the royal family, they did “everything [they] could to make it work.” The queen may have a different take. (Although we likely won’t hear it in a splashy TV interview.)
Markle told Oprah she’d experienced “suicidal thoughts,” explaining, “I went to the institution and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help…and I was told that I couldn’t.”
“I went to one of the most senior people to get help. I was told I couldn’t because it wouldn’t be good for the institution,” said Markle.
Harry on his father Prince Charles:
There is a lot to work though there. I feel really let do. He’s been through something similar.
He knows what pain feels like.
And Archie is his grandson.
I will always love him but there is a lot of hurt that has happened#OprahMeghanHarry— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) March 8, 2021
Harry on Prince William: The relationship is one of "space at the moment" and time heals all things hopefully.
Meghan: I regret believing them (the Palace) when they said I would be protected.#OprahMeghanHarry— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) March 8, 2021
“I’m comfortable knowing we did everything we did to make it work.”
Both Harry and Meghan tell Oprah they did everything they could to make their roles work, but ultimately the institution and family let them down.#OprahMeghanHarry
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) March 8, 2021
Prince Harry says the Royal Family cut him off financially at the start of 2020 (after announcing plans to step back from royal roles) but says he was able to afford security for his family because of the money his mother, Princess Diana, left behind.#OprahMeghanHarry
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) March 8, 2021
Harry: If it were not for Meghan, I wouldn’t not have been able to leave. I felt trapped as well.
I was trapped but I didn’t know I was trapped.#OprahMeghanHarry— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) March 8, 2021
Harry says the royal family has an issue with race “For this union and the specifics around race there were opportunities for my family to show some public support. No one from my family ever said anything. That hurts.” #HarryandMeghanonOprah #MeghanAndHarry
— Roya Nikkhah (@RoyaNikkhah) March 8, 2021
Meghan: They took away Harry's security. I wrote letters to his family – I accept that I couldn't;t have it. But I said "please keep keep my husband safe. Please don’t pull his security. And they said it’s not just possible".#OprahMeghanHarry
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) March 8, 2021
The couple said they felt “trapped” as royals. Meghan said she begged unsuccessfully for Harry’s security to remain. Harry said his family “literally” cut him off, and he’s living on money left by his mother.
In reference to rumors swirling around her wedding, Markle claimed it was actually Kate Middleton who made her cry, despite reports to the contrary. Harry said his relationship with Prince William involves “space at the moment.”
They were married in a private ceremony three days before their public wedding. They’re now expecting a baby girl in the summer, but want only two children. Floating a huge allegation, Markle said before the birth of her son there were internal “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”
The interview was loaded with apparent revelations. But there’s absolutely no way around the he-said-she-said dynamic that characterizes this conflict.
The crown wants to protect itself. Harry and Meghan want to protect themselves as well. Given the necessarily public nature of their spat, both sides must now manipulate the media in their favor to succeed. Whether you love Markle or hate her, what you’re seeing is a curated media character striving to achieve an illusion of authenticity.
I confess to being viscerally irritated by Americans’ palace intrigue over the royal family. Women project onto royals because their privilege makes it seem okay, so controversial royals are incredible gossip fodder, like homecoming queens and trust-fund princesses. British tabloids are a different beast, but it seems inevitable that Markle’s admitted struggles with fame-induced mental health problems will spark comparisons with Britney Spears.
For the public, it seems like a trade-off. Markle and Spears get fame and money, so we get to joke when they gain ten pounds or have an off day. We get to speculate about their family drama and they get to jet set. Is it fair? Tabloid culture is certainly a response to demand. Demand is not always or even often broadly moral.
Markle is notoriously sanctimonious. She lectures the world from her position of immense power and privilege. She has the vapid politics of a Zinn-chugging liberal arts graduate. Depending on which rumors you believe, she’s not very nice either. But who knows what’s real in a battle for the narrative? It’s not possible, so you might as well just stop investing in the fight.
At play here are deep international dynamics, the trading of literal royalty for America’s decadent version of it in Hollywood. Emotive millennials pointedly bucking their conservative family’s tradition of stoicism, swapping dignified roles and their inevitable constraints for self-indulgence.
We’re all projecting a lot onto this couple. The comment that struck me most was Harry’s claim his family is “scared” of British tabloids and acts accordingly. Powerful people being scared of the free press? What an incredible concept.
Here in the states, where Harry and Meghan have chosen to make their home, reality star Bethenny Frankel deleted a critical tweet that read, “Cry me a river…the plight of being a game show host, fairly unknown actress, to suffering in a palace, w tiaras & 7 figure weddings for TWO WHOLE YEARS to being a household name w @Oprah on speed dial, fetching 7 m for interviews, hundreds of millions in media deals.” For a couple with the world at their fingertips, it’s true that Harry and Meghan do a lot of whining.
After blowback from users and outlets like TMZ, Frankel deleted the tweet and added, “I watched M & H sit down. Emotional distress & racism must feel suffocating & powerless. I’m a polarizing, unfiltered(often to a fault)flawed person w a voice. When I heard of the interview, during a pandemic, it felt like a surprising choice. I’m sorry if it hurt or offended you.”
American tabloids defend rich and powerful celebrities as long as they cloak themselves in vague wokeness. That makes California a much warmer home for Harry and Meghan for reasons beyond the weather. Here, they can have their cake and eat it too.
For all our personal and cultural projections onto the couple, “Harry and Meghan” is always just our interpretation of the family’s media tug-of-war. We have little access to the reality at hand, which is carefully clouded by the resources of enormously powerful people. Why bother squinting?
Don Draper said it best. Love her or hate her, the best approach to Meghan Markle is simply not to think about her at all.
OMG! The Little Mermaid thing...Bwahahahaha!
Thesilence didn’t last long, did it?
Deep down, I bet Harry wants to put a sock in her mealy mouth! 🤪😱😜🤫
Harry may want DNA tests.
Kate is a great mother, and a very nice person.
Meghan’s jealousy of her just oozes from her pores.
Markle is an ex-royal bitch!
That is so absurd.
Az if...the Archbishop would conspire to do a phony private wedding.
M.A.P.?
Mulatto-American-Princess.
Great, so we can have an inbred member of the British monarchy someday trying to run for office in the US. /s
I did watch the interview Sunday night...I watched most of it...
I was not impressed with Ms. Markle...I got the impression that she was not willing to make efforts to fit into royal family...Who does she think she is? She is so important that royal family has to change to please her? I did not like her attitude...
About the race thing...Who knows? Both Prince Harry and Ms. Markle refused to discuss specific details...
Prince Harry expressed his disappointment with his father...I am sorry to hear that relationship is not very good right now...But, I think Prince Charles wants to defend royal family traditions...He does not want to embrace “changes” to please his daughter-in-law...
I don’t think Ms. Markle has a right temperament to be a member of a royal family...Not a good fit...But, Prince Harry loves her...I do not doubt that...He made his choice and he has to live with consequences...
I watched the interview because I was bored with the other TV options. I admit to being interested in British royalty.
There were quite a few things Meghan said that I thought were a bit questionable, and not verifiable.
One thing she said I agreed with. The news media seems to always define stories about women as one of good vs bad; i.e. one person is saintly and the other is wicked and witchy. I happen to admire Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Meghan allowed Oprah to continually bring up Kate regarding the story of who caused who to cry at the time of the Harry/Meghan wedding.
After that, she spoke about the color of Archie’s skin. I blame Oprah for that. OW seemed determined to use racism as a subject of the interview. By denying the Queen and the Dk of Edinborough were the origin of the skin color comments, the implication is it was either Charles or William who made the comments. I cannot speak for African-American sensitivities, but it seems foolish to assume an off hand comment proves racism. And, if it bothers you, perhaps a better solution is to ignore comments which are not made maliciously.
Good stuff if you’re into psychology. Harry is from an enmeshed, dysfunctional family dynamic who marries a narcissistic Hollywood actress...... The power struggle, scapegoat and flying monkeys make for great entertainment...
This reminded me of Michelle Obama's early days in the White House...when she established a vegetable garden on the Grounds right away. But the farming duties of a vegetable garden--watering, weeding, fertilizing--were quickly sublet to the White House Groundskeeping Staff, while Michelle and her entourage jetted off to Spain for an extended holiday.
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
Again
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
I think she's got it!
I think she's got it!
The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain!
By George, she's got it!
By George, she's got it!
Now, once again where does it rain?
On the plain!
On the plain!
And where's that soggy plain?
In Spain!
In Spain!
She was in the television industry. She could have watched The Crown. It became apparent to Elizabeth from the time of her father’s death that “the family” was run by a professional staff whose mission was to serve and preserve the monarchy. Meghan should have known that’s how this family operates and if it wasn’t for her, turn down joining the family.
And she lived in Canada (an Anglophile country for sure) for many years.
So her claims of not realizing what the royal family was all about are pure bs.
Canada is a Commonwealth nation. The Queen is the head of state, and her picture is on Canadian currency.
Harry is quite the willing partner with Megan in all this...including their fake wedding costing the people millions when they had actually married days before the wedding. Their entire life is proving to be deception and lies....no wonder all their friends are Hollywood leftists.
Harry has no common sense and very poor judgment. And he is not improving in these areas.
His wife is just plain old narcissist BIG TIME.
Pity the children.
Meghan I bet is very unhappy all the time ... that’s why she has to manipulate and control all around her. And she makes everyone around her miserable.
She irritates us but she is very unhappy...needs more and more wealth and attention. She is pitiful
Two Lay abouts = Zero
I don’t even believe what she says.
The leader of the worldwide cabal,the ultimate illuminati family or the race-card playing all time bitch of the USA. I pity Harry who could not have chosen a worse woman if he tried. Markle lies about everything. When her mouth is moving.... Seems the all too happy couple sold their story to netflix for a few million but the big bucks for these grifters is still to come.
And they thought Wallis and Eddie were bad................
Prince Harry should take a DNA test and insist that Prince Charles take one too, so he can find out if he is really Charles’ son. If not, he can call himself Harry Spencer, after Diana’s maiden name. That would make the situation a little easier for the Queen.
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