Is Meghan Markle the next Princess Diana? Is she the most popular woman of color in the
royal family…since the beginning of time? Here's what a new voice is saying about Meghan Markle.
Ever since Meghan Markle entered the public eye as Prince Harry's girlfriend,
the actress and lifestyle blogger was immediately
subject to intense scrutiny — and became a lightning rod for the British tabloid press.
The pair first began dating in July 2016 after being set up on a blind date,
and things accelerated fairly quickly after that.
"The second date I was starting to think: 'Wow, this is pretty special.'"
However, by November 2016, the press had already begun to attack Markle,
forcing Harry to address the matter. An official statement read:
"Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he
has not been able to protect her. It is not right that a few months into a
relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm.
He knows commentators will say this is 'the price she has to pay'
and that 'this is all part of the game.' [...] This is not a game — it is her life and his."
However, the harassment wasn't going to let up anytime soon,
and it eventually contributed to Harry and Markle's decision to step down from royal duties.
But, even though she has a difficult relationship with the press, Markle is
still beloved by many in the general public — not unlike Harry's late mother, Princess Diana.
Indeed, despite the fact that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have parted ways with the royal
family, the public still largely views them as part of the monarchy. And in that sense,
Markle is seen by many as its most inspirational member.
As lawyer-activist Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu told The Daily Express:
"Is she inspiring? I think so... I think some of Meghan's inspiration comes from
her and how she's handled all this. [...] But most so is the reaction she has been
able to generate from people who would not normally talk about these things."
Dr. Mos-Shogbamimu then clarified that Markle is receiving a lot of
support from various marginalized groups, telling the publication:
"Black and brown women are standing together in solidarity with Meghan
because the same things happen to us. It's on a larger scale for Meghan because she's got
the global eye amplified to her. But what they are doing to her is what they do to us, too."
Furthermore, she connected Markle's role in the monarchy to that of Princess Diana,
as so many have before, saying: "I think that she's been able
to generate the kind of support that no other member of the royal family, bar Princess Diana,
has been able to generate. Meghan was an independent woman and a millionaire before
she met Harry. Therefore, they weren't giving her anything that she didn't already have."
Ultimately, Mos-Shogbamimu declared Markle the most inspirational royal of 2022. Of course,
even before she was set to wed Prince Harry in 2018, Black women were already hailing Markle
as an example of what others like her could aspire to. After all, Markle was one of the
first people of color to earn a spot in the royal family and is perhaps the most popular
woman of color within the royal family to date — despite being a divorced American. Camille Newman,
a Brooklyn-based entrepreneur, told The Guardian back in 2018:
"It's exciting for Black women, and I think it's going to be inspirational.
We're claiming her for a Black woman's right to be in there like everybody else."
Experts noted that Markle's testimonies about racism and her mental health struggles during
her interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021 were also inspirational for other Black women.
Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, a licensed psychologist and host of the podcast Therapy for Black Girls,
spoke to NBC News about the importance of Markle sharing her truth during the interview. She said:
"There was something particularly resonant about the whole conversation around the worries around
how dark the baby would be, because I think that is another conversation in the Black community,
the idea of colorism. [...] No level of privilege or resources is going
to kind of add as a buffer from protecting you from those things."
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