The Royal Family Was ‘Not Built to Handle’ Someone Like Meghan Markle, Expert Says
When Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry decided to step down from being senior royals in early 2020, many people pointed the finger at Meghan herself. There were and still are a lot of talks about her not understanding what it means to be a duchess, and how her background made it difficult for her to be in the role of a royal.
However, a royal expert believes there were also many things wrong on the royal family’s side. In fact, the expert thinks the institution of royalty itself was simply “not built to handle” a person like Meghan.
Meghan Markle had a hard time in the royal family
Since the very beginning of her courtship with Harry, Meghan has been at odds with the British press. Negative stories about her have been printed on a daily basis, with some of them being based simply on her background as a mixed-raced American actor. Unfortunately, as a royal, she was also expected to not respond publicly to rumors and negative media coverage.
According to the new biography Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, Meghan also faced some difficulties with royal courtiers who was not used to dealing with a progressive and outspoken duchess.
In the 2019 documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, Meghan revealed that she had been “struggling” in the royal family, especially when she was pregnant.
She said, as reported by Vogue, “Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable. So that was made really challenging. And then when you have a newborn, you know? It’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.”
Meghan reportedly felt she did not get enough support from other royals
According to Finding Freedom, Meghan also reportedly felt she did not get enough support when she was struggling as a new royal. More specifically, the book alleged Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge should have reached out to Meghan, but she did not do so.
Scobie and Duran wrote, “Meghan was disappointed that she and Kate hadn’t bonded over the position they shared, but she wasn’t losing sleep over it. According to a source, Kate felt they didn’t have much in common ‘other than the fact that they lived at Kensington Palace.’”
Still, Meghan reportedly would have liked for Kate to “check in on her during the most difficult times with the press.”
A royal expert believes the royal family was ‘not built to handle’ someone like Meghan
At the heart of it all, Scobie believes the royal family did try to help Meghan as best they could. However, the institution itself was not made to accommodate someone like Meghan.
“When we look at the immediate royal family, I think they clearly did support Harry and Meghan to some extent,” Scobie told The Cut. “Unfortunately the institution itself is not built to handle someone coming in who is different, or is as dramatically different as Meghan was.
He added, “It’s a shame because I think the royal family had this incredible chance to be seen as inclusive and diverse and progressive. And that’s gone now, ending a very short chapter for the monarchy.”
