The Meghan and Harry interview, which aired on the 7th of March’21, stirred up not only the world but also raised some important questions regarding the line of thought still governing the Royal household. While it is important to acknowledge that the Royal household has never outrightly taken any stance on political issues such as the elections, gender, and race which also happen to translate into basic rights, it is however also pertinent to start acknowledging the system of silence they have bestowed upon their own.
Meghan, in her interview with Winfrey talks about various issues she has faced since her marriage to Harry and the foremost being she wasn’t completely aware of the duties a working Royale has to fulfill, she didn’t know what was expected of her and the pressure was immense, which was also one of the main reasons for Meghan and Harry to take a step back from being active Royals, after which Meghan was repeatedly dragged in the media and the Royal Family failed to protect her or stand for her. This brought to light even deeper issues such as complete isolation from the Royal Family after the split, financially and otherwise. The complete lack of internal support from the Palace shook the foundations of Harry and Meghan’s relationship with the Royal Family. Similar accusations were laid out by Diana Spencer, the Princess of Wales in her sit-down interview with BBC. She too spoke about the immense pressure that came with being a working Royale and the lack of internal support in terms of knowing and understanding the work she was supposed to do. The immense pressure started affecting Meghan’s mental health and she slipped into depression and even spoke about not wanting to live anymore, however she was turned back again when she approached the institution for help regarding her mental health. We also saw similar patterns with Princess Diana, who was offered help but it did not seem to make things better.
Meghan and Harry also talk about the strained relationships they shared with the family members and how the media bullied Meghan with reports of her making her sister-in-law cry, her diva behaviour, and so on, which Meghan clarified as not being true and further added that the decision of the Royal household to not come to her aid with the corrected piece of information or any statement at all took a toll on her and she felt vulnerable. They also talk about how a certain family member was concerned with the skin colour of baby Archie before he was born, highlighting the systems of racism running inside the Royal family. They also open up about the constraining lifestyle and lack of personal freedom that comes with being a part of the Royal Family and used the word ‘trapped’ to describe how they felt.
The interview revealed some intricate details about the personal lives of Harry and Meghan and how even after more than two decades of Princess Diana’s interview, the patterns of problems remain the same, which only goes on to prove that in the last two decades and the after the disastrous debacle with Princess Diana, nothing much has changed in the Royal Family or for Meghan, demonstrating the necessity to stop seeing such powerful institutions in isolation and start holding them accountable for their actions.
- Samikhya Satpathy
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