Harry and Meghan, formerly working royals, recently announced they were quitting and leaving the UK. Although I don't usually follow royals or celebrities, I did notice this huge news item reported on TV stations and in newspapers.
For the last couple of years I couldn't avoid seeing—almost every time I turned on my laptop or tuned in for TV's news—that yet another report was out concerning Meghan's so-called faults: either her hair or choice of clothes, her family issues or lack of royal know-how. It just went on and on, the whole time she was in England, first as Harry's fiancée, and later as his wife.
I'm trying to imagine the sacrifice Meghan made for love: leaving everything she knew in North America for a strange new country she'd never lived in, sacrificing her relative anonymity, career and privacy. She knew she'd be trailed by security personnel for the rest of her life, watching her every move. A loss of peace and quiet, but a necessary loss, because of intrusions by photographers, dangers from kidnappers and constant approaches by the generally well-meaning but tiresome public. Meghan was prepared to spend her life shaking hands, visiting opening events for this or that, and tending to royal family and church obligations. She was going to see much less of her own friends.
As for Harry, he was happily in love and thrilled to marry Meghan. There were a few racial comments made by the public and the press during their engagement, and Harry addressed these in a speech. He wanted to reassure his fiancée. But the comments didn't stop, even after their wedding. Harry has endured the agony of witnessing his wife's pain at critical remarks, and the pressure on her as she became aware of the camera's every zoom-in shot waiting for her to make a mistake.
I truly believe Meghan tried hard. But the slurs and the betrayals and public airing of her private family issues were beyond horrendous.
And I firmly believe I know what the last straw was, for this couple.
Imagine being proud first-time parents of a new baby. A time of joy and togetherness, love and caring. A new baby: a bundle of innocence!
I'm trying to figure out how many emotions I'd be dealing with if I then saw an image similar to what the BBC's Danny Baker tweeted. I didn't see it (don't do Twitter much) and hopefully it has been wiped out everywhere, but apparently it was a doctored photo of Harry and Meghan holding a chimpanzee. The caption was "Royal Baby leaves hospital."
Perhaps the couple was already planning to move away, but I believe this sped up the process. But such an unspeakable, discriminatory and low-life insult would have been the absolute last straw—for me, anyway.
It doesn't matter that the BBC fired this employee. Too late, already. I also think that the BBC's calling the tweet a "serious error of judgement" is an understatement. Such euphemisms are unacceptable. This was blatant racism and needed to be called out as such. I agree with the comments made by broadcaster Scarlette Douglas, who works on 5 Live podcast The Sista Collective and The One Show. You can listen to her here (scroll down).
I also have to wonder at Piers Morgan's hateful remarks regarding the young family's exodus: "Spare me your 'patriotic' crocodile tears, Harry - you didn't have to quit. You chose to ditch the Queen, the monarchy, your military comrades and your country...to become a royal Kardashian and keep Meghan happy"
MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 07:45 EST, 20 January 2020 | UPDATED: 09:47 EST, 20 January 2020
What rubbish!
Morgan spews this nonsense about "royal Kardashians" and so on, just as he spews vitriol toward so many other people. Of course, those in the media will never look to their own behaviour for this turn of events. Later, he said, "I regret to say I burst out laughing": a comment intended to trivialize Harry's exit explanation to the public.
What happened to Meghan was bullying, plain and simple. When it extended to Harry and Meghan's child, it was clear that this was just never going to stop. The paparazzi were making too much money by gossiping and demeaning this family. If anyone thinks the novelty would eventually wear off, I point to Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt. How many years has it been, since they divorced? And how long has it been since the rags stopped making up stories about them? I rest my case.
SURPRISE: This, below, appeared online an hour after I posted my blog!
https://ca.yahoo.com/style/prince-harry-reveals-hes-therapy-181700301.html
UPDATE: Interview
https://ca.yahoo.com/style/meghan-markle-british-press-panic-attacks-150626265.html