Meghan, Duchess of Sussex‘s admittance into the royal family has definitely not gone as expected. When Meghan, a Hollywood actor, married Prince Harry, the grandson of the Queen of England, it raised all kinds of eyebrows and speculation about the changing face of the royal family.
Everything from Meghan’s profession to her progressive politics to her race was held up as a sign of modernity and change from tradition. While some were thrilled about these happenings, others were incredibly harsh toward Meghan.
Eventually, the negative press and constant scrutiny became too much to bear. Meghan and Prince Harry shocked the world when they announced they were stepping away from royal duties to live an independent life outside the harsh glare of the press.
Through all of this headline-grabbing drama, Meghan may have demonstrated herself to be much more like the late Princess Diana than many people recognize.
Meghan Markle faced split reception
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Basically from the moment that Meghan became a member of the royal family, there were critics who pointed out all the ways that she broke royal protocol. Some were thrilled by this development, but others were very negative about it.
When she had a lavish baby shower — something that is much more of an American tradition than a British one — some saw it as gauche. The Hollywood star who was used to being in the spotlight but also having control of her image raised eyebrows for taking selfies.
When her father couldn’t make it to the wedding, Meghan walked herself down the aisle — another break from tradition.
All in all, Meghan spent much of her time under fire for bucking traditions that she might not even have known existed. Reports say that Prince Harry tried to help his bride navigate all of these expectations and unspoken rules.
He even coached her not to try too hard to win at the annual Christmas party when she played charades. Beating the Queen would be considered in poor form!
Baby Archie changed things
Meghan was definitely facing challenges in her new role, but she seemed to be a good sport who was really trying to adjust for the sake of her husband and the duties of the royal life she had married into. Things changed when she and Prince Harry welcomed their first child, however.
Baby Archie was born in May 2019, and the criticisms of Meghan intensified. When the press went wild posting pictures of her holding her newborn son and calling her out for having no “maternal instincts,” it was clear that the negative attention was not going to end anytime soon.
Meghan and Prince Harry have insisted that they plan to raise their family out of the limelight, and it was also increasingly clear that their goal was going to be incompatible with the realities of their role in the royal family. It seems that this fact had a lot to do with their shocking decision to move away from the royal family completely and start an independent life in America.
Meghan Markle and Princess Diana have a lot in common
One of the reasons Prince Harry may be particularly sensitive to the pressures of living a royal life is because of what happened to his mother. Princess Diana tragically died when Prince Harry was just a young child. Her untimely death came at the hands of aggressive paparazzi, and the press hounded Princess Diana for much of her life.
Memories of losing his mother may have helped inform Prince Harry’s decision to take a different path for his own family.
Meghan and Princess Diana have more in common than just that, however. As BestLife reports, they both felt marginalized not only by the external press but also from within the royal family itself.
“Both the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex felt they contributed far more to the Royal family than was acknowledged. They both felt misunderstood and unprotected by the family,” a royal family expert explains.
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