I really deeply care about Meghan Markle as a person. She’s been elevated to this place of hyper-visibility and has therefore been judged and torn apart in some of the most inhumane ways. From the Meghan vs. Kate stories to the need for tabloids to mention every single time she does something out of protocol and the racist language and undertones that are always following her in the British media, it’s exhausting, and with her dealing with her first pregnancy and the fact that Black women deal with some of the highest maternal mortality rates, this period has made me very anxious about her health.
That’s why I was glad when the statement came out that the Royal Couple would not be doing a post-birth photo op.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very grateful for the goodwill they have received from people throughout the United Kingdom and around the world as they prepare to welcome their baby,” their statement said, reported People. “Their Royal Highnesses have taken a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private. The Duke and Duchess look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family.”
The walking, defamation-spewing cesspool that is the Sun had their own kind of hissy fit in response, saying that “keeping the nation in the dark over details, even after the birth, is a bad look for the royal couple,” and that the “public has a right to know about the lives of those largely funded by their taxes. You can accept that, or be private citizens. Not both.”
Oh, Meghan Markle, who has been on the receiving end of racist and sexist reporting, doesn’t want her first-born, mixed-raced child to be instantly thrown to the lions of media who will dissect every aspect of its existence and appearance moments after being born? Wow, what a bad look. It’s so strange to me how some places can be so anti-monarchy, and yet the moment someone comes into the picture who doesn’t fit “their image” there is all this talk of protocol and royal rights.
The monarchy is an archaic institution with a lot of problems, a complex history, and there will always be a conversation about how much they are and should be worth, but Meghan Markle didn’t create those issues (hell, her ancestry is tied to the British Empire’s history of slavery in America), so the fact that her joining the Royal Family via marriage has come with all of this baggage is exhausting to watch. She’s doing her best, while also trying to stay true to her own person, which is all anyone can do. Meanwhile, the fact that Harry opposes the horrendous treatment of his wife personally and is on her side is being portrayed as him being … a brat?
Well, Harry, please continue to be a brat and not tolerate the racism and sexism against your wife. Meghan Markle, you have married into a shit show, but don’t worry. Keep doing what you’re doing and providing your amazing bone structure to the royal gene pool.
And if you really need a place for all your anti-monarchy feels, I direct you to the video below:
(via In Style, image: Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
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