It’s the story on everyone’s lips, minds and televisions. Since Meghan and Harry spoke out publicly for the first time since their break from the Royal Family all hell has broken loose. The country, or even the world, has been split down the middle into two main camps. Team Meghan or Team Queen.
Classic of us, isn’t it? A story has been shared about a woman with mental health issues who struggled with pregnancy, family troubles and racism from all corners of her life. A woman who, without a doubt, expressed her admiration and continued support for the Queen throughout the interview and beyond. So, what do we, the British public and press do? We pit them against each other, of course!
It seems obvious to me that we are missing the point here. From my point of view, we are doing exactly what the Sussexes are accusing us of: reporting on exactly what we want, no matter the facts. So, I’m going to outline exactly what we have all so easily looked past in the Meghan and Harry interview.
Meghan’s not the big story here, Harry is.
No matter if you’re scrolling through The Times, The Sun or Twitter, the name you’ll see time and time again is “Meghan”. Now I understand. She’s the outsider, she’s the American and yes, she had a section of the interview just to herself. But, did she actually say anything that shocking? She discussed her personal experience with the Monarchy and her mental health struggles. But, in general, I thought the whole thing was surprisingly tame.
Prince Harry, however, was already discussing how the future King of the United Kingdom was dodging his calls a short five minutes after he sat down. He spoke in depth of the rift between him and his father, his brother and the struggle he faced after the death of his mother. So, I suppose my question is: why is no one talking about Harry? The only feasible answer I can find is that Meghan is simply an easier target- as Diana was all those years ago. Harry spoke of history repeating itself, and I believe he was onto something there.
Mental health is not treated seriously enough.
Another eye-opener for me in the Oprah interview was how stigmatised mental health issues still are. The fact that a pregnant woman with suicidal thoughts asked for help and was denied it is, for me, the most terrible part of this whole scandal. And, of course, people are talking about this, I don’t deny it- but, sadly, the current rhetoric seems to focus more on whether her depression is valid or not- or whether we ‘believe’ her. I’m sad to have to explain to anyone that it is not our job to validate her mental state, but instead, support her in how she is feeling (and maybe back off a little). Which is, by the way, exactly what the Institution failed to do. Do we want to be just the same as them?
It’s not Team Meghan or Team Queen. It’s Team Meghan or Team Tabloids.
The interview was, quite ironically, released on International Women’s Day. You know, the day where women come together to support other women? So why is it that we have managed to somehow pit our monarch against the Meghan. I’m not sure if everyone was watching the same interview as me, but Meghan actually discussed her closeness to the Queen and their numerous zoom and phone calls despite their physical distance. It’s quite clear, Meghan’s issue is not with the Queen, her issue is with UK Tabloids writing stories that are harmful gossip, racially loaded and often outright lies. So, let’s all stop picking The Queen or The Duchess and instead pick Meghan or The Publication of Toxic Gossip. You decide.
It seems to me Harry and Meghan’s message was very clear. And yes, there were parts of the interview I don’t agree with, there always will be. And no, I haven’t even touched on some of the main issues with race and security that would take me a few months to get down on paper. But the reality is, we have so far completely missed the point. They weren’t there to attack the monarchy (it is their family, after all) but instead to question the publication of articles that are discriminatory, bigotry and often false.
Perhaps we should stop discussing the abolition of the monarchy and start discussing the abolition of baseless and harmful press stories. Just an idea.
Words by: Laura Cameron
Edited By: Rosie Harkin-Adams