LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 07: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex depart Canada House on January 07, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
When accomplished, glamorous American actress Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in 2018, she was hailed as a breath of fresh air for Britain’s fusty royal family. That honeymoon didn’t last.
Now the couple wants independence, saying the pressure of life as full-time royals is unbearable. And a debate is raging: Did racism drive Meghan away?
When Prince Harry, who is sixth in line to the throne, began dating the “Suits” actress — daughter of a white father and African American mother — the media called it a sign that Britain had entered a “post-racial” era in which skin color and background no longer mattered, even to the royal family.
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, arrive to attend the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey in London on March 9, 2020. The Commonwealth Service will be the last job for Meghan and Harry as senior royals before they split from Buckingham Palace.
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend The Endeavour Fund Awards at Mansion House on March 5, 2020 in London, England. This is the last weekend for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as working royals before they part ways with Buckingham Palace.
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the Mountbatten Festival of Music at Royal Albert Hall on March 7, 2020, in London, England. This is the last weekend for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as working royals before they part ways with Buckingham Palace.
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge visit the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Stanford Hall to meet patients and staff on Feb. 11, 2020 in Loughborough, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)
Queen Elizabeth II is escorted by Station commander Group captain James Beck past an RAF guard of honor as she arrives at RAF Marham to inspect the new integrated training centre that trains personnel on the maintenance of the new RAF F-35B Lightning II strike aircraft at Royal Air Force Marham on Feb. 3, 2020 in Kingu2019s Lynn, England. (Photo by Richard Pohle u2013 WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (L) and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend the EE British Academy Film Awards 2020 at Royal Albert Hall on Feb. 02, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
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Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Queen Elizabeth II and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, attend the annual Remembrance Sunday service at The Cenotaph on Nov. 10, 2019, in London, England. The armistice ending the First World War between the Allies and Germany was signed at Compiegne, France, on eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month on Nov. 11, 1918.
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Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the annual Remembrance memorial at The Cenotaph on Nov. 10, 2019, in London, England.
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Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visit a settlement of the Kalash people to learn more about Kalash culture and heritage, Oct. 16, 2019, in Chitral, Pakistan.
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Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles attend the official State Opening of Parliament at the House of Lords in London, Monday Oct. 14, 2019. The 93-year-old monarch read a 10-minute speech outlining an ambitious legislative program for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government.
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Britain's Prince Harry walks through a minefield in Dirico, Angola, Friday Sept. 27, 2019, during a visit to see the work of landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust, on day five of the royal tour of Africa. Prince Harry is following in the footsteps of his late mother, Princess Diana, right,, whose walk through an active mine field in Angola years ago helped to lead to a global ban on the deadly weapons.
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Britain's Prince Harry with Jose Antonio, center, of the Halo Trust and a mine clearance worker walk through a minefield in Dirico, Angola Friday Sept. 27, 2019, during a visit to see the work of landmine clearance charity the Halo Trust, on day five of the royal tour of Africa.
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend Heritage Day public holiday celebrations in the Bo Kaap district of Cape Town, during the royal tour of South Africa on Sept. 24, 2019, in Cape Town, South Africa.
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Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, attends the "Back to Nature" festival at RHS Garden Wisley on Sept. 10, 2019, in Woking, England.
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Princess Charlotte arrives for her first day of school at Thomas's Battersea in London, with her brother Prince George and her parents the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Sept. 5, 2019, in London, England.
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Princess Charlotte, 4, arrives for her first day of school, with her brother Prince George, 6, and her parents the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, at Thomas's Battersea in London on September 5, 2019 in London, England.
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Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge having fun together after the inaugural Kingu2019s Cup regatta hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Aug. 8, 2019, in Cowes, England. Their Royal Highnesses hope that The Kingu2019s Cup will become an annual event bringing greater awareness to the wider benefits of sport, whilst also raising support and funds for Action on Addiction, Place2Be, the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, The Royal Foundation, Child Bereavement UK, Centrepoint, Londonu2019s Air Ambulance Charity and Tusk.
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Prince George celebrates his sixth birthday in the gardens at Kensington Palace. The photo was shared by Kate Middleton, The Duchess of Cambridge, on Instagram.
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Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meets cast and crew, including US singer-songwriter Beyoncu00e9 and her husband, rapper Jay-Z as they attend the European premiere of the film "The Lion King" in London on July 14, 2019. (Photo by Niklas HALLE'N / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read NIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP/Getty Images)
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This official handout Christening photograph released by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shows Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (center left), and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex holding their baby son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor flanked by (L-R) Britain's Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Ms Doria Ragland, Lady Jane Fellowes, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge in the Green Drawing Room at Windsor Castle, west of London on July 6, 2019. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan had their baby son Archie christened on Saturday at a private ceremony.
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Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meet players of the New York Yankees before a match against the Boston Red Sox in London, Saturday, June 29, 2019.
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Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meet Boston Red Sox players before a match against the New York Yankees in London, Saturday, June 29, 2019.
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Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, attends the first day of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 18, 2019, in Ascot, England.
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Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Maxima of The Netherlands seen on the first day of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 18, 2019, in Ascot, England.
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Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, attends the first day of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 18, 2019, in Ascot, England.
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Prince Edward, Duke of Wessex and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, pose for photographs ahead their 20th wedding anniversary on day one of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 18, 2019, in Ascot, England.
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Princess Eugenie of York and Princess Beatrice of York attends the first day of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 18, 2019, in Ascot, England.
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Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, with Prince Harry and her mother, Doria Ragland, introduces her newborn son to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip on May 8, 2019, at Windsor Castle, Windsor, England. The royal couple named their firstborn son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor two days after the baby was born.
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, pose with "Baby Sussex" in St. George's Hall at Windsor Castle on May 8, 2019, in Windsor, England. The Duchess of Sussex gave birth to the couple's first child two days ago.
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Photos of Princess Charlotte taken in April by her mother, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, was released by Kensington Palace in honor of the princess' 4th birthday on May 1, 2019. Charlotte, the second child of Prince William and Kate Middleton, was born on May 2rd.
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A new photoset by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, shows her third son, Prince Louis, a day before his first birthday, on April 23, 2019.
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Queen Elizabeth II is presented with flowers as she leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, at Windsor Castle in England Sunday, April 21, 2019. The Queen is also celebrating her 93rd birthday.
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Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Governor General Cecile La Grenade visit St Georgeu2019s Carenage and watch dancers during the official royal visit to the country on March 23, 2019, in Saint George's, Grenada.
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Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge meets Olivia Colman after the EE British Academy Film Awards at Royal Albert Hall on Feb. 10, 2019, in London, England. 'The Favourite,' in which Colman plays Queen Anne, swept the BAFTAs with seven awards out of 12 nominations.
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In this image released on Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2018, Britain's Queen Elizabeth poses for a photograph after she recorded her annual Christmas Day message, in the White Drawing Room of Buckingham Palace, London.
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Kensington Palace released this year's Christmas Card from the Duke of Cambridge's family, taken at Anmer Hall. From left, clockwise: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; Princess Charlotte; Prince George; Prince William, Duke of Cambridge; and Prince Louis.
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Prince Charles marks his 70th birthday in the gardens of Clarence House, with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in London, England, on Nov. 13, 2018.
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are greeted by 5-year-old Luke Vincent as they arrive at Dubbo Airport on Oct. 17, 2018, in Dubbo, Australia. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are on their official 16-day autumn tour visiting cities in Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.
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Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, meet Ruby, a koala, during a visit to Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia, Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018. Ruby gave birth to two joeys named Harry and Meghan after the Duke and Duchess. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are on a 16-day tour of Australia and the South Pacific, during which Kensington Palace announced that Meghan is pregnant
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Princess Eugenie of York and her new husband Jack Brooksbank kiss as they leave St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle following their wedding on Oct. 12, 2018 in Windsor, England.
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex take their seat before the performance next to the writer of "Hamilton," Lin Manuel Miranda before the gala performance in support of Sentebale at Victoria Palace Theatre on August 29, 2018, in London, England. "Hamilton" is a look at the American Revolutionary War, which skewers King George III, Harry's royal ancestor.
Matt Holyoak/Camera Press via Kensington Palace
The royal family is shown in this official photograph released by Kensington Palace from Prince Louis' christening last week.
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Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge watch a flyover to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018, in London, England.
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Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge speaks to Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as she arrives carrying Prince Louis for his christening service at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace on July 9, 2018, in London, England.
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From left, Britain's Queen Elizabeth, Meghan Duchess of Sussex, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Kate Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William attend the annual Trooping the Colour Ceremony in London, Saturday, June 9, 2018.
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Britain's Prince Harry, left, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex ride in a carriage to attend the annual Trooping the Colour Ceremony in London, Saturday, June 9, 2018.
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Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, kisses his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, as they leave from St George's Chapel in Windsor, England, on May 19, 2018. The two married in the royal wedding of the year, in a wedding ceremony that bought touching moments to family and fans alike.
HRH The Duchess Of Cambridge
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge shared a new photo of Princess Charlotte kissing her brother, Prince Louis, at Kensington Palace on May 2, 2018, Princess Charlotte's third birthday.
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Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, show their newborn son, their third child, to the media on Monday, April 23, 2018, outside the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital in central London.
U.K. Labour Party lawmaker Clive Lewis, who like Meghan has biracial heritage, says the royal rift shows that Britain still has a problem with “structural racism.”
“We can see it with Meghan Markle and the way that she’s been treated in the media, we know that this is a reality of the 21st century, still,” Lewis told Sky News. “After 400 years of racism you can’t just overturn it overnight.”
Frederick W. Gooding, an assistant professor of African American studies at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, said it would be “disingenuous” to claim race had not been a factor in Meghan's treatment.
“She was always going to be an outsider,” he said. “There was always going to be this barrier because of her race."
From the start, some in the media wrote about Meghan using racially loaded terms. One tabloid columnist referred to her “exotic” DNA. A Daily Mail headline described her Los Angeles roots as “(almost) straight outta Compton” and claimed she came from a “gang-scarred” neighborhood. A TV host described Meghan as “uppity.”
Meghan was criticized for everything from eating avocados — which the Daily Mail claimed fuel “human rights abuses, drought and murder” — to wearing dark nail polish, apparently an etiquette faux pas.
Morgan Jerkins, a senior editor at Zora, a Medium.com site for women of color, said that because Meghan was “an outsider, culturally, racially, and socioeconomically, she has been the royal family’s scapegoat.”
Others point out that Meghan is hardly the first royal to get a rough ride in the media. The press and the royal family have an intense and often toxic relationship going back decades. Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, was snapped by paparazzi wherever she went. When she and Prince Charles admitted that their marriage was in trouble, her private life became public property.
Diana was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997 while being pursued by photographers. Prince Harry, who was just 12 when his mother died, said in October he feared “history repeating itself. … I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
After Diana’s death, a chastened British press mended its ways — a bit. The media left young William and Harry alone in exchange for carefully staged interviews and photo opportunities as they grew up. That practice has continued with the three young children of William and his wife, Kate.
But in many ways little really changed. Royal stories still sell newspapers and generate clicks. That has meant intense — and even illegal — scrutiny. In the early 2000s, tabloid reporters hacked the voicemails of Prince William and royal staff members in pursuit of scoops.
Younger female royals are routinely judged on appearance, demeanor and habits. Prince William’s wife was relentlessly scrutinized for years: dismissed as dull, accused of being lazy for not having a full-time job, and dubbed “waity Katy” before William proposed.
Still, Meghan’s treatment has sometimes seemed harsher. Last year the Daily Mail ran photos of a pregnant Meghan cradling her bump under the headline: “Why can’t Meghan Markle keep her hands off her bump?” Months earlier the same paper had described a pregnant Kate as “tenderly” cradling her bump.
British Home Secretary Priti Patel denied Meghan has suffered from racist media coverage,
“I’m not in that category at all where I believe there’s racism at all," Patel, who is of Indian heritage and whose parents emigrated to Britain from Uganda, told the BBC. "I think we live in a great country, a great society, full of opportunity, where people of any background can get on in life.”
But others say the media double standard Meghan faced is evidence that talk of “post-racial” Britain is wildly premature.
“Her treatment has proved what many of us have always known: No matter how beautiful you are, whom you marry, what palaces you occupy, charities you support, how faithful you are, how much money you accumulate or what good deeds you perform, in this society racism will still follow you,” writer Afua Hirsch, author of the book “Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging,” wrote in the New York Times.
That feeling was echoed by Hayley Oliver, a recent Virginia Tech graduate who wrote a college essay about how Meghan and other mixed-race women are treated in popular culture. She said Meghan had years of charitable work, including advocacy for women's healthcare and gender equality worldwide that preceded her marriage into the royal family.
“What about her in those roles?" said Oliver, who is also biracial and says she’s inspired by Meghan for the stances she takes. “When you see someone who looks like you. ... it makes it easier to imagine yourself in that situation or the possibility of where you could go.”
While Britain is by most measures less racist than it used to be, non-white Britons are still over-represented among the poor and imprisoned, and under-represented at the top of well-paid professions, including politics, journalism and the law. Britain’s 2016 decision to leave the European Union — a move fueled in part by concerns about immigration — was followed by an increase in cases of racist abuse reported to police.
Meghan acknowledged in an October interview that she had been unprepared for the intense media scrutiny she would get as a member of the royal family. She told ITV journalist Tom Bradby that before she married Harry, “my British friends said to me, ‘I’m sure he’s great, but you shouldn’t do it, because the British tabloids will destroy your life.’”
“And I very naively … I didn’t get it,” she said.
Unlike other members of the royal clan, Meghan and Harry have pushed back. As long ago as 2017, Harry criticized “the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments."
Now the couple has had enough. They plan to move part-time to Canada, withdraw from royal media-coverage arrangements and seek financial independence. The queen has reluctantly agreed to let them become semi-detached royals in order to avoid a damaging family split.
The racism debate will rage on. Writing in The Guardian, British columnist Nesrine Malik said she doubted it would have much positive effect.
She argued that the racism debate had become a “pantomime, in which everyone — people of color, tabloid journalists, TV hosts — is playing well-rehearsed parts."
“Britain’s conversation about race endlessly repeats itself, first as tragedy, and for ever thereafter as farce," she wrote.
