While the Duchess of Sussex may seem to have it all, she hasn't been spared from tragedy
in life. From a rough childhood to the glaring scrutiny of the aggressive British tabloids,
here is the tragic truth of Meghan Markle.
One thing that Meghan Markle has been open about is her race; she's biracial, as her
mother is Black and her father is white. Sadly, Meghan and her family dealt with microaggressions
just for being a mixed-race family, starting when she was a newborn.
In an essay for Elle, Meghan wrote,
"And there was my mom, caramel in complexion with her light-skinned baby in tow, being
asked where my mother was since they assumed she was the nanny."
Later in life when Meghan was home from college on a break, someone referred to her mother
using a racial slur in a parking lot encounter.
Those were neither the first nor last incidents of racism that Megan has dealt with, as even
more was lobbed at the actress as an adult.
Growing up, Meghan had to navigate her biracial identity in a society that didn't accommodate
her. As early as seventh grade, Meghan found herself having to choose between Black or
white boxes on a census, which confused her, so she left the box blank.
She explained in the essay,
"I left my identity blank — a question mark, an absolute incomplete — much like how I
felt."
Similar challenges came in high school, when once again Meghan said didn't know where she
belonged.
She detailed the experience on The Tig, writing,
"My high school had cliques: the Black girls and white girls, the Filipino and the Latina
girls. Being biracial, I fell somewhere in between."
On December 23, 1979, Meghan Markle's parents, Doria Ragland and Thomas Markle, tied the
knot at a temple in Los Angeles, according to India Today. Less than two years later,
Meghan was born on August 4, 1981 — but it wasn't long after that joyous day that
Meghan's parents separated. According to Good Housekeeping, they called it quits when Meghan
was 6 years old, when Meghan went to live with her mother.
Fortunately, Meghan was able to spend quality time with both of her parents. While she didn't
live full-time with her father, she got to spend time with him on set. He was a director
of both lighting and photography on the raunchy sitcom Married... with Children.
In a chat about it with with Esquire, Meghan recalled the experience, saying,
"Every day after school for 10 years, I was on the set of Married... with Children, which
is a really funny and perverse place for a little girl in a Catholic school uniform to
grow up."
After graduating from high school and college, Meghan Markle moved to Hollywood to try and
make it as an actress. However, Meghan still carried her insecurities with her, which led
her to be quite rough on herself for a long time.
In a post on The Tig, she confessed,
"My 20s were brutal — a constant battle with myself, judging my weight, my style,
my desire to be as cool/as hip/as smart/as 'whatever' as everyone else."
Meghan also found that she was labeled, quote, "ethnically ambiguous," meaning she could
audition for roles originally intended for Latinas and Black women, among others.
In an essay for Elle, she wrote,
"Sadly, it didn't matter. I wasn't Black enough for the Black roles and I wasn't white enough
for the white ones, leaving me somewhere in the middle as the ethnic chameleon who couldn't
book a job."
Fortunately at some point, Meghan had a revelation about her own unique beauty. While at an audition,
a casting director advised her to, quote, "know that you're enough," saying,
"Less makeup, more Meghan."
As fans of the royal family know, Prince Harry wasn't Meghan's first husband. That would
be Trevor Engelson, who Meghan married on September 10, 2011 in Jamaica, according to
Us Weekly. Engelson is a film producer who founded the production company Underground
Films, and he is known for his work on the series Snowfall, according to Life & Style.
Unfortunately, though the pair loved each other, the two couldn't make it work. Engelson
was back in Los Angeles, and Meghan was living in Toronto where Suits filmed, and the two
struggled with the distance.
A source told Woman's Day,
"Meghan landed her role in Suits just a few months before they married, and despite being
together for six years before getting hitched, things started to fall apart not long after
the wedding."
The main thing that Meghan is known for outside of her royal connection is her work on the
USA legal dramedy Suits. As she tells it, she absolutely loved being a part of the show,
which was nuanced and sensitive in its approach to casting.
In her Elle essay, Meghan explained,
"It's the Goldilocks of my acting career — where finally I was just right."
Meghan starred on Suits from 2011 through 2018. Sadly, Meghan had to leave Suits when
she married Prince Harry, as senior members of the royal family aren't supposed to have
commercial jobs outside of their palace commitments, according to Vogue.
Now that Meghan and Harry have stepped back from the royal family and are living stateside
in California, Meghan could go back to acting if she wanted. But given how busy they've
been with other projects, it remains to be seen if she will.
The British tabloid press is so notorious an institution that Meghan's friends tried
to warn her about how awful they can be.
In the documentary Meghan & Harry: An African Journey, Meghan recalled,
"When I first met my now-husband, my friends were really happy because I was so happy,
but 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."
"I didn't get it, so, it's um, yeah, it's been complicated."
The British press descended on Meghan like vultures pretty much from day one. According
to O, The Oprah Magazine, Meghan was subjected to brutal and racist attacks from tabloids,
who often characterized her as a terrible person. Yikes. No wonder her friends tried
to protect her.
Meghan has two half-siblings. One of them is Thomas Markle Jr., from whom Meghan is
estranged, and it's not hard to understand why.
On April 26, 2018, Thomas reportedly handwrote a letter to Prince Harry, which contained
some pretty dire warnings about his half-sister.
In the letter, which was obtained by In Touch, Thomas wrote,
"As more time passes to your royal wedding, it became very clear that this is the biggest
mistake in royal wedding history. Meghan Markle is obviously not the right woman for you."
Thomas then reportedly called her a, quote, "jaded, shallow, conceited woman that will
make a joke of you and the royal family heritage." Wow.
It didn't stop there, either. Thomas went on to call Meghan a, quote, "below C average
Hollywood actress" who's aging, and he accused her of financially ruining their father, Thomas
Markle Sr.
Meghan has unfortunately had to put up with everything that her half-sister, Samantha
Markle, has done to harm her. Namely, Samantha wrote and published a supposedly tell-all
book about Meghan entitled The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister.
Meghan opened up about her relationship with her sister to Oprah Winfrey and weighed in
on whether or not she felt betrayed.
She told Oprah,
"When you talk about betrayal, betrayal comes from someone that you have a relationship
with."
She also noted that it would be, quote, "very hard to tell all when you don't know me."
She went on, saying,
"I don't feel comfortable talking about people that I really don't know. I mean, the last
time I saw her must have been at least 18, 19 years ago. And before that, 10 years before
that."
The Markle family drama didn't stop with Meghan's half-siblings, as she and her father, Thomas
Markle Sr., have a bit of a strained relationship. The reason? Not surprising to anyone, it has
to do with the tabloid press.
Meghan explained to Oprah that the press made it their mission to find out everything about
her after she and Prince Harry started dating, and that included locating her parents. Indeed
they did exactly that and took it a step further when they found her father.
She told Oprah,
"And from that point, the tabloids, they moved into the apartment next door and across from
him. Descended on this small town, which is giving him gifts. The whole thing just brings
us to where we are today."
While Thomas did break down and talk to the press, according to TMZ, he reportedly lied
to Meghan about doing so.
In January of 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan shocked the world when they announced their
intentions to essentially abdicate, announcing in a statement that they were stepping back
from the royal family and working to become financially independent.
The statement read in part,
"We intend to step back as 'senior' members of the Royal Family and work to become financially
independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen."
Harry and Meghan also explained their plan to split their time North America and Europe,
writing,
"This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the
royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to
focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity."
Meghan and Harry eventually settled into their new home in Santa Barbara, and while it proved
to be the right move for them and their children, it's still sad that royal life wasn't working
for the couple.
Another revelation that we learned from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2021 tell-all interview
with Oprah Winfrey had to do with baby Archie. Unlike his first cousins, Meghan and Harry's
son isn't called Prince Archie. He's called Master Archie, as the palace never gave him
a royal title. And while the press made it look like that was Meghan and Harry's choice
at the time, according to Insider, Meghan said it wasn't.
But wait, there's more, and it just gets worse.
Meghan told Oprah,
"All around this same time — we have in tandem the conversation of, 'He won't be given
security, he's not going to be given a title.'
"And also, concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born."
One of the biggest bombshells that dropped in Prince Harry and Meghan's March 2021 interview
with Oprah was that Meghan struggled with her mental health while at the palace.
She told Oprah,
"Look, I was really ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry
especially, um, because I know how much loss he's suffered. But I knew that if I didn't
say it — then I would do it."
"I just didn't want to be alive anymore."
To make matters worse, when Meghan tried to get help for herself, her requests fell on
deaf ears.
She told Oprah,
"I said that I've never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere."
And I was told that I couldn't, that it wouldn't be good for the institution."
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.
In November of 2020, Meghan did something incredibly brave: She opened up about having
a miscarriage months earlier in July. As she tells it, she went to pick up Baby Archie
from his crib when she felt pain in her abdomen.
In an essay for the New York Times, she wrote,
"I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the
cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right. I knew, as I
clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second."
Naturally, Meghan and Prince Harry immediately sought medical help.
She continued,
"Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband's hand. I felt the clamminess of
his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears. I tried to imagine how we'd
heal."
Meghan said that by sharing her story with the world, she hoped to reduce the stigma
and shame that often come with having a miscarriage, writing,
"In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing."
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