In some (emphasis on some) ways, Meghan had it much worse than Diana during her short stint as a royal. But in the most important one–to have the love and support of the person she’s married to–Meghan possesses a distinct advantage that Diana never did. And this, arguably, is why she has been able to come out “the other side.” Literally to America, but also figuratively. Having the space needed to be truly free from the burdens and oppressions of the monarchy (referred to creepily as “The Firm” and “The Institution” throughout the now illustrious interview with Oprah) has additionally proven to be restorative. And one wonders what actually getting out would have done for Diana. If she had managed to escape sooner and far away enough from the country filled with a press that loves to denigrate their idols as much as they love lifting them up–where do you think the United States learned it from?
As far as juicy interviews go, however, Meghan’s still didn’t top Diana’s with Martin Bashir in 1995, but there were certainly some candid tidbits. Like when Meghan spilled the tea to Oprah that someone in the royal family–could be Charles (probably), could be Elizabeth or Philip (Harry claims no)… shit, even William–expressed concern over what color Archie’s skin might be. This also occurred around the time The Institution decided Archie wouldn’t be bestowed with the title of Prince, therefore wouldn’t be receiving the same level of security. One imagines the term “miscegenation” being quietly bandied in hushed whispers among the senior royals as they figured out a way to politely tell Meghan how they really felt about her son without saying anything at all.
To Oprah, Meghan expressed of the sudden lack of resources based on Archie somehow being “lesser than,” “But if you’re saying the title is what’s going to affect their protection, we haven’t created this monster machine around us in terms of clickbait and tabloid fodder. You’ve allowed that to happen, which means our son needs to be safe.” Meghan was also candid about accusing The Firm of encouraging the press’ behavior by letting them throw their Christmas parties at the palace as though they’re holding court. All in a bid to get at least a few positive stories now and again planted in the tabloids. Granted, there never seemed to be a single positive one about Meghan.
While marooned in England, there was a period where Meghan didn’t leave the house for four months, told by The Institution that she needed to keep a low profile as she was getting too much press. This seemed rather impossible to her as she hadn’t been out. Hadn’t been “allowed” out. For the extra tinge of martyrdom cachet, she tries to relate it to the common man by comparing it to how lockdown would soon be for everyone as March 2020 approached. But again, we must emphasize that Americans were never on lockdown in any comparable way to Europeans. In this scenario, too, one can’t help but think of Diana, constantly stuck in her gilded cage–whether Kensington Palace or Prince Charles’ countryside residence that he ended up spending more time in with Camilla.
Oprah and Harry are keen on the Diana comparisons as well, with the former flashing to images of her being hounded by the press and asking Harry what he feels his mother would have thought about all this. Harry replies frankly that he believes she foresaw something like this coming, which is part of why she left him a sizable inheritance (a dip in viewer sympathy then immediately occurs). An escape fund, if you will. Because yes, “poor” Harry was cut off from the family coin in the first quarter of 2020. But between Diana’s “diamonds” and various deals with streaming platforms (plus this Oprah interview), the two are “finding a way” to pay for the security they need and live in Montecito.
Harry is also quick to make the Diana correlation as he tells Oprah that he saw history repeating itself if they didn’t get out (like the movie). Not only in terms of Meghan being harassed by the press, but in The Institution’s jealousy of her “abilities” with people. A green-eyed monster that hovers over their shoulders to remind them that their own “people skills” remain decidedly lacking. Diana had the “gift” in a way Meghan does not, yet anyone who came into contact with her while she and Harry were on their tours of South Africa and Australia (again, echoing comparisons to Diana’s 1983 tour) certainly seemed to have more affinity than they would have with anyone else from the royal family.
When Oprah brings up the accusations that everything Markle has done thus far has been in service to her “brand,” she balks that it would have been quite a roundabout way to do so. And also required quite a bit of unnecessary pain in the process of purportedly increasing her celebrity. This is where we get to another Diana moment in terms of candor. For just as Diana frankly discussed her bulimia as a coping mechanism with Bashir, so, too, does Meghan speak on her suicidal thoughts at one of the lowest points of the suffocating experience. Unlike Prince Charles blatantly ignoring Diana’s own suicide attempts, Harry’s response to Meghan’s pain was relatively swift considering all the work required to extricate themselves. He wasn’t going to put “The Firm” first the way his other family members always had. In this sense, one could say he has a touch of Edward VIII in him (minus the Nazi sympathizing element, obviously).
“Duty first,” “Country first,” the royals are indoctrinated to believe. But to what end does their duty still serve the country? Yes, it’s a “grand” tradition of Britain’s to have royalty, but if they ever want to move into the present, the nation might want to consider that their unbreakable bond to colonialism remains steeped (like tea) in this family. In continuing to let it serve as one of Britain’s primary symbols. The thing most commonly associated with this country is also the thing that is the most repugnant.
And try as the family might to “get with the times,” an institution like this can never be adequately “amended” to work in a modern context. A fierce aversion to modernity is manifest in something even as small as Meghan and Harry admitting to watching The Crown, whereas William has glibly stated he tries to avoid shows about royalty. An inability to look at themselves as they truly are–along with the rest of the devout royalists of the UK–is part of what has allowed the same issues to continuously keep cropping up, especially when someone “outspoken” like Diana or Meghan comes along.
To be fair, William has a far more vested interest in keeping the monarchy alive. It means more to him to become king than it would to Charles, who has never really wanted the job, and would be unfit to do it even to this day. This is why Harry declares that he and his brother are on two different paths, while also assuring that the trauma they’ve shared will forever bond them no matter what’s going on in their relationship.
As Oprah explores a bit of the rest of the property with Meghan, the ex-actress mentions happening upon The Little Mermaid and rewatching it recently (it’s fine if she was deliberately seeking it out, too). It dawned on her while revisiting it that she also had to lose her voice in order to be with the prince, only to get it back again in the end (making their fairy tale have a happier coda than Diana’s). And it’s true, Meghan appears to finally be losing some of the fear that was imbued within her by The Institution, which seems like a more flaccid version of the mafia in terms of finding ways to “make someone quiet.” When Oprah asks, “Were you silent or were you silenced?” Meghan openly states, “The latter.” Yet you can’t keep a California girl quiet for very long, at least not without way more incentive to do so.
Clearly, times must have changed though, because it didn’t take Meghan even half as much suffering as Diana to start voicing her truth. Or maybe it’s just that sense of “American freedom” that gave her the added push she needed to break out and reclaim the liberties she was once previously accustomed to. Diana, being born into the system, the very one Harry calls out his brother and father for still being trapped in (more massive shade that likely brought a smile to Lady Di’s face), perhaps didn’t feel she could ever unchain herself from it. At least not any further than she already had by the time the divorce with Charles was finalized.
And by the end of this interview, we can’t help but think: Diana took the House of Windsor’s abuse for over a decade and somehow still survived. Except wait, she didn’t. Which makes it worth noting that Meghan and Harry both did what they had to in order not to repeat the same mistake Diana made in choosing to get swept up irrevocably into the tentacles of The Firm. Like the British colonialists who fled to the U.S. before him, Harry has found his haven, and Meghan, like Ariel, the restoration of her voice. In this way, the princess has rescued the prince (as stated to Oprah)–for a thoroughly updated spin on the fairy tale narrative.
