Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been increasingly plagued by controversy from the start of their
fairy tale romance.
Every decision the actress-turned-Duchess makes is heavily scrutinized, and Markle can't
seem to do anything right - at least in the eyes of her fiercest critics.
Here are the most controversial decisions Meghan Markle has made.
When it comes to fashion, Meghan Markle keeps shunning sartorial rules normally applied
to the royal family.
It all started when she decided to go bare-legged during her engagement announcement press conference.
While royal expert Marlene Koenig told Harper's Bazaar, quote, "There are no rules for royal
women regarding pantyhose," fellow expert Victoria Arbiter had the opposite opinion.
She told Express,
"You never see a royal without their nude stockings.
I would say that's really the only hard, steadfast rule in terms of what the Queen requires."
"Oh my God, it's crazy."
Since then, Markle has broken so many supposed fashion rules, including wearing dark nail
polish, which OK! says is considered "vulgar" in the royal household.
She also wore a hat to Wimbledon, even though the event's official website states "ladies
are asked not to wear hats," and chose French designers over British ones for key events.
In 2018, Markle was accused of petty behavior on multiple occasions in the days leading
up to her wedding.
For example, the Daily Mail reported that Markle had asked for the historic St. George's
Chapel to be outfitted with air fresheners because she found the smell too "musty."
According to the outlet, the former actress wanted to freshen up the place but had the
request quickly shut down by Buckingham Palace.
A source told the paper,
"Royal Household staff stepped in and told her office politely, but firmly, that this
was the Queen's Chapel and it simply wasn't appropriate."
Markle's very public falling out with her father also took center-stage.
Following a photo scandal in which it was revealed that he worked with paparazzi to
stage a number of images of himself pretending to get ready for the wedding, he didn't attend
the big day at all.
Rather than being walked down the aisle by her dad, Markle asked Prince Charles to do
the honors.
Another alleged eyebrow-raising moment was reported by The Sun, which claimed that Markle
was reprimanded by a "furious" Kate Middleton, who told her future sister-in-law she needed
to check her behavior towards staff.
In February 2019, Markle jetted off to New York City for a top-secret - and very over-the-top
- baby shower with several high-profile guests bearing gifts.
"So I really don't know what everybody got.
I think I got something I think is very nice."
According to Vanity Fair, the lavish do at the Mark Hotel was organized and paid for
by Serena Williams and cost a whopping $200,000.
Critics wasted no time calling out the hefty price tag, as well as the very American aspect
of the bash.
As royal commentator Victoria Arbiter told TODAY,
"Customarily, the Brits don't do baby showers [...] We tend to give gifts after the baby
is born."
According to Vanity Fair, embracing the US custom was, quote, "yet another way of her
showing that she plans to do things her own way, royal or not."
What's more, the wealthy royals are funded by taxpayer dollars and so, as Arbiter told
ABC News, a baby shower is considered by some to be "highly inappropriate."
Adding to the controversy was the fact that Markle was reportedly warned against going
ahead with the outlandish affair, but chose to ignore the advice.
When Markle attended Wimbledon in July 2019 to cheer on her friend, Serena Williams, she
enraged British media when she allegedly asked her security team to forbid fellow spectators
from taking photos of her.
Outlets across the UK had a field day with the news.
The Telegraph's Allison Pearson wrote,
"It's time Meghan was taught a well-known British phrase: 'Get over yourself, love.'"
Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan called it "a complete joke" and noted,
"It's frankly hypocritical and they're not private people, they're the Duke and Duchess
of Sussex."
Media consultant Sally Jones revealed in a Telegraph article that a security guard tapped
her on the shoulder and asked her to stop taking photos of Markle.
She wrote,
"No wonder there is a growing tide of resentment against the Sussexes for their secretive,
high maintenance attitude and diva-ish demands for privacy when it suits them."
When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced their son's official name, they surprised
royal watchers with one very important omission: the title of prince.
As it turns out, Archie is in fact not a prince.
Rather, he's a master - which is just "mister" but for children - and his full name is Master
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
So what gives?
As Cosmopolitan explained, King George V actually restricted who could bear the title of Prince
or Princess in 1917 and, technically, Archie doesn't qualify.
However, as the outlet noted, an exception could have easily been made had the pair simply
asked the Queen.
For example, she offered to give Princess Anne's children royal titles, even though
they didn't qualify by King George V's rules.
Just a few weeks after telling British Vogue they wouldn't have more than two kids for
environmental reasons, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in hot water for their repeated
use of private jets.
When it was revealed the pair had taken four private jets in 11 days in August 2019 alone,
the media showed no mercy.
According to Express, Prince Harry tried to justify the flights, saying,
"I spend 99 per cent of my life travelling the world by commercial.
Occasionally there needs to be an opportunity [to fly privately] based on a unique circumstance
to ensure that my family are safe."
Unfortunately for him, the Daily Mail was quick to note that six of the 10 trips he
had taken since his wedding had been private - nowhere near 99 percent.
As for Markle, she wasn't in the least bit phased and reportedly didn't see fit to justify
her choices.
An insider told Vanity Fair,
"She's moving on and riding above the storm.
She's not wasting time or energy on the row over the private jets."
While Markle is by no means the first-ever royal to guest-edit a magazine, it seems that
every single decision the Duchess of Sussex makes is steeped in controversy.
Almost as soon as it was announced that Markle had agreed to guest-edit the September 2019
issue of British Vogue, critics took aim.
The Sun, for one, accused her of, quote, "wading into politics by promoting Trump-hating celebs"
while Piers Morgan wrote in The Daily Mail,
"Me-Me-Meghan Markle's shamelessly hypocritical super-woke Vogue stunt proves she cares more
about promoting herself than the Royal Family or Britain."
Then there was The Times, which criticized her for highlighting individuals in the issue
who are, quote, "associated with causes that are deeply divisive," plus journalist Dan
Wootton who called the decision "idiotic" and argued,
"Remember Meghan doesn't want to be a celebrity, she says she wants to be a royal.
Royals don't guest-edit magazines, celebrities guest-edit magazines."
Every year, the Queen travels to Scotland to spend the late summer at Balmoral Castle
and, throughout her stay, she receives visits from the rest of the royal family.
When she made the trip in 2019, Markle and Prince Harry declined her invitation to visit
for the second year in a row.
According to the Daily Mail's Jan Moir, this was a bold stance against tradition.
She wrote,
"It might seem extraordinary that Harry would not want to visit his 93-year-old grandmother
with his new baby, a Balmoral rite of passage that is a staunch tradition within the family."
An unnamed source tried to argue that the couple wasn't snubbing the Queen, but rather
were simply too busy with work.
The insider said,
"They were back having meetings at Kensington Palace from early August with just two short
breaks in between and are busy preparing for their official trip to Africa which starts
this month."
However, the real reason seemed to have more to do with friendship preferences rather than
an overbooked schedule.
As it turns out, Markle found time in her busy schedule to fly to New York to watch
friend Serena Williams play at the U.S. Open.
As a royal source told Best Life,
"Meghan has made it quite clear that cultivating her relationships with her celebrity friends
is more important to her than fulfilling her role as a royal."
In November 2019, Markle gave an extremely candid interview to The Telegraph in which
she allowed reporter Bryony Gordon to follow her around for a day of charity work and told
her, quote, "how vulnerability is one of humanity's greatest strengths."
The Daily Beast dubbed the intimate exchange a "major breach of protocol," explaining that
the royal family usually forbids its members from participating in one-on-one newspaper
interviews.
That's not the only reason why Markle's choice was a strange one, however.
As The Daily Beast pointed out, her messaging has never lined up with The Telegraph's.
In fact, the paper has often dragged her, reporting that she and Prince Harry, quote,
"may be suffering from 'Generational Difference,'" calling out their "need to decide whether
they are cut out for Royalty," and even claiming that Markle is forcing Prince Harry to pick
between her and his duty to the country.
Making a habit of speaking candidly about their lives, Markle and her husband agreed
to star in an ITV documentary called Meghan and Harry: An African Journey.
In it, Markle let loose about the hardships of being a royal and life in the spotlight.
"I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip.
What that does internally is probably really damaging."
According to experts, agreeing to the documentary was not a smart move.
Calling it a "big mistake," royal biographer Penny Junor told People why it could backfire.
She explained,
"The Royal Family has always in the past very successfully pursued this policy of keeping
their head down and saying nothing.
I think that is a dignified way of dealing with problems, but it's not the American way
and that's the real problem.
It's fine to speak to someone in private, a therapist, but don't spill your soul in
public.
I don't think it works."
It turns out there's probably a reason Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were missing from
the Queen's Christmas speech photos in late 2019.
In early January 2020, the Sussexes announced on Instagram that they were stepping back
from their "senior" roles within the royal family and becoming "financially independent."
In other words, they were - sort of - quitting their own family.
That's some big 2020 energy!
The unprecedented move reportedly blindsided Buckingham Palace, causing a "serious rift
within the family," according to Vanity Fair.
Though the couple allegedly had some early discussions about their exit over Christmas
break, nothing had been set in stone.
Prince Charles, Prince William, and the Queen reportedly only found out that this so-called
"Megxit" was a done deal when the news was revealed on social media.
That's not to say the Sussexes are ditching their family for good.
It'd pretty cruel to throw your brother, father, and grandmother to the curb.
Instead, they plan to collaborate, but will no longer take money from the Sovereign Grant,
which is partially taxpayer-funded.
Per the couple's Instagram post, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan plan to launch a new charity
while splitting their time between North America and the UK.
While the Evening Standard reported that Queen Elizabeth II was pushing for a swift, "workable
solution," people were already (quite unfairly) placing the blame on Markle for the couple's
joint decision.
But that's par for the course in the life of the Duchess of Sussex, who hopefully will
find some peace in this groundbreaking new arrangement.
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