Before I’m clobbered online for the headline, know that I am a fan of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. So much so that this site was almost titled, “In Defense of Meghan Markle,” but then things went extremely south and they left the UK.
I spent over a decade in public relations and the following thoughts are coming from a PR perspective. I’ll also agree that it’s none of my business, if I don’t like what I’m reading about her, I don’t have to read it, etc. etc. Everything that Twitter will say after I press the “Publish” button.
Teenager Therapy released a podcast interview with Prince Harry and Meghan on the topic of removing the stigma around mental health, on Saturday. Hello! Magazine described the interview as an “incredibly raw admission” from Meghan discussing “being the most trolled person in the world.” Meghan stating that the experience was “almost unsurvivable.” This headline felt… ill-timed.
Meghan said in a previous interview that there is nothing wrong with what she says, it’s just the way that it’s perceived by the person on the other end. She is right, her comments are typically pretty vanilla. I believe that there are two reasons that people take issue… three reasons… that people take issue with *everything* Meghan Markle says or does.
The first reason is that we are all suffering right now. It has been a horrible year for most. There is the fear of the unknown. This virus. Who has it? Will I get it? Will I survive it? Everyone knows someone that has had it. Some have had to bury their loved ones with no one else around due to group restrictions. Mourning quietly alone with a broken heart. They’ve lost their jobs. No one is hiring. They don’t know if and when… and from where their next paycheck will come from. They’re unemployed… and now uninsured. What if they get sick? To top it all off… there’s a presidential election approaching… which typically puts everyone on edge. People would reject anyone that recently moved into a $15M Montecito mansion complaining about… anything.
Issue number two is sincerity. Although Meghan and Harry and both very polished speakers, you get a sense that they are talking AT you instead of TO you. They lack the sincerity that Princess Diana effortlessly carried. One more than the other. I understand what they’re trying to do and I do believe that they want to make the world a better place but lecturing Frontier Airlines customers about their carbon footprint while chartering private travel is probably something your conscience is aware of.
The third issue is simple… maybe you just don’t like her. She is a very polarizing figure and I don’t exactly know why. I don’t think it’s about race… I kind of think it’s about feminism – which is crazy because the Queen is such a badass. Perhaps it’s the above.. the ill-timing of comments or her communication style.
It’s great to crusade for mental health education but you don’t have to make it about you. Everyone is fighting their own battle. It feels self serving. Like you are using the opportunity to talk about yourself instead of legitimately using your platform to provide resources.
It often feels like the Sussexes are still in a race with the royal family as to who is the busiest, doing the most, getting the better headlines… which I believe is briefly mentioned in Finding Freedom. Prince Charles being disappointed in Harry.. distracting from his professional efforts to defend Meghan in a rare statement.
I think Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would have received a much softer response from all had they quietly moved to Montecito and worked to settle into the community and raise their beautiful baby. Half of the adoration associated with the royal family is the mystery that surrounds them. A quiet year would have given people time to forget Megxit, leave them alone, and would have made their prior cries for “privacy” seem a little more legitimate.
Landing in the states and immediately pursuing every Zoom conference that they’ve been invited to has overexposed the couple and left the undecided… unimpressed. Because no matter how bad Meghan Markle’s day is… she still wakes up to Prince Harry. Who is sincerely in love with her. She has a healthy and beautiful baby. She lives in an enchanting community in a home with 9 bathrooms. She has a mother that is crazy about her. She still looks in the mirror and is one of the most beautiful women in the world. She is incredibly educated and has the ability to continue to educate herself. She has dogs. DOGS! And a relationship with Netflix that she would have never had if it weren’t for her in-laws.
I am sorry that she has been bullied online and I hope that they continue to work behind the scenes to change the way we communicate on social media. But I feel like their PR strategy is sloppy and inappropriately timed.
To quote one comment online, “Only Meg could sit to listen to children’s fears about their emotional wellbeing and hijack the moment by replying, ‘Well, I was the most trolled person in the world!'”
Kinsey Schofield is the Editor-in-Chief of To Di For Daily and you can follow her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.