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It Was Already Tough
Being a British Royal is not easy. There are many rules and duties a Royal must keep to maintain the role. Then there is the media doing what it typically does best: capture media. Similarly to a celebrity, the media loves filming, photographing, or writing about the life of a Royal, and then posting it all over various social media platforms. As one could imagine, this can not only be tiring, but also highly invasive and unnecessarily harsh. When the commentary, posts, or videos frequently degrade someone for being a woman, mother, multiracial, not Royal enough, marrying an outsider, gaffing at personal tragedies, and a plethora of other unnecessary topics, this is bound to take a toll on one’s health. Anyone who already knows, or has researched Meghan and Harry, will know that they both had a past of hardships. The media made their lives tough to the point that it ultimately turned them away from the Royal spotlight.
Quick Background Stories
Prince Harry was born in London, England, United Kingdom, September 15, 1984. He is the second son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Princess Diana. He has been schooled through Wetherby School, Ludgrove School, and Eton College. Prince Harry is most famous for his decade long role in the military from 2005 – 2015, and charitable work.
Meghan Markle was born in Los Angeles, California, United States, on August 04, 1981. She is the only child of Thomas Markle, a former cinematographer, and Doria Ragland, a former social worker and yoga instructor. She has been schooled through Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse, Immaculate Heart High School, and Northwestern University. Meghan is most famous for her previous role as an actress, particularly the Television series Suits. She also used to have a lifestyle website named The Tig.
January 2020 Statements
This month there have been three statements posted: the first on the 8th, and the second and third on the 18th regarding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
January 8th Via Instagram
“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. 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. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. 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. We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.” – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
This statement was a sign of their intentions to officially step back, before the world received an official statement. An official statement arrived 10 days after this.
January 18th Via Royal UK
Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family.
Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family.
I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life.
I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family.
It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life. – Her Majesty The Queen
Statement from Buckingham Palace
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are grateful to Her Majesty and the Royal Family for their ongoing support as they embark on the next chapter of their lives.
As agreed in this new arrangement, they understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties, including official military appointments. They will no longer receive public funds for Royal duties.
With The Queen’s blessing, the Sussexes will continue to maintain their private patronages and associations. While they can no longer formally represent The Queen, the Sussexes have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty.
The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared their wish to repay Sovereign Grant expenditure for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home.
Buckingham Palace does not comment on the details of security arrangements. There are well established independent processes to determine the need for publicly-funded security.
This new model will take effect in the Spring of 2020.
The Meaning
Harry and Meghan are stepping down entirely from Royalty in pursuit of a quieter, more peaceful, less intrusive life. Her Majesty clearly acknowledged that intrusive media was the driving force behind the couple’s resignation. Even with the resignation, both thanked each other for what they experienced during their time with the Royal family. However, it is not all positive despite what these statements may suggest. Many, including current Royals, and others outside of the Royals, also said they were disappointed with the move.
Why Harry Left
Harry’s life has been in the media since he was a child. His birth, His first day of school, parent’s divorce, grief of his mother’s death, teenage parties, drug usage, inappropriate costumes, sports events, military years, the Las Vegas scandal, romance with Meghan, and a plethora of other events. Harry has spoken out about the death of his mother still being a wound that festers. He has also mentioned that the way the media is treating Meghan is alarming with the following quote:
“I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditized to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces,”
The decision was not something he took lightly. He spoke about it during a speech at a private dinner in London for his charity Sentebale. Harry is deeply concerned about the safety of his family and their independence. He knew backing away from Royalty would cause much discussion — positive and negative, but took the leap of faith in pursuit for a tamer life.
“I watched as you welcomed Meghan with open arms, as you saw me find the love and happiness that I hoped for all my life” – Prince Harry
Why Meghan Left
Since the times Prince Harry had been dating Meghan, she had been subject to intense online harassment. These attacks have been double standards, racist, sexist, and uncalled for. It had been so bad that the Kensington Palace released a statement on behalf of the Prince, November 08, 2016, about his deep concerns for his partner. He wanted those involved with the press to stop and think about their actions and words. On October 01, 2019, Prince Harry himself released a statement. This statement was about taking legal action over a British tabloid press that had been spreading ruthless, malicious information over the past year of his wife’s pregnancy.
In 2018, Meghan Markle became a member of the royal family. Since then, she has been repeatedly compared to Kate Middleton, and criticized for doing the same things Kate is praised for. Wearing wedges, cradling her baby bump, refusing pictures at Wimbledon, and other trivial things that should not even make news to begin with.
Meghan is biracial, being Black American on her mother’s side, and White American on her fathers. As such, she has received numerous mockery about her Black ancestry from various mediums. From articles and comments saying she is almost out of Compton, her rich and exotic DNA, her mother being a dreadlocked African-American lady from the wrong side of the tracks, jungle fever, biracial commoner, and thousands, perhaps millions more.
Back in October 2019 on ITV News, Meghan spoke out about her struggles being a Royal and a mother. She expressed feeling really vulnerable while she was pregnant, as well as the hardships of Royalty.
How The World Has Reacted
Upon the reveal of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex departing from Royalty, it has brought a tremendous reaction across the world. For North America, it has been mostly positive, though some people thought they were being weak and cheap.
Royal Reaction
For the Royal family themselves, it unsurprisingly brought great shock. The Queen is saddened that she will not get to see Archie as often. Despite her warm wishes from the statement, a Royal commentator pointed out that the Queen truthfully feels disappointed by the move. This is evidenced by the fact that she not only stripped Harry of his military title, but also that they cannot even represent her anymore. When Prince Philip was brought the news he bluntly said, “What the hell are they playing at?” He felt they have disrespected the Queen. The fact the Sussexes did not spend time with the family last Christmas did not help either. Catherine and William, were also reported to feel not only disappointed, but concerned about the future of the Royal family after the departure of the Sussexes.
Thomas Markle
Meghan’s father openly said in a video that he was disappointed. He even went as far to say that they were cheapening the Royals, and turning them into a Walmart with a crown on it.
Canada
Most of Canada feels delighted that the Sussexes have their eyes on Canada. Canadians reported that it made them feel that their is country safe, welcoming, and could give the nation more attention. However, others are also concerned about how their presence here could effect their money. In other words, taxpayers do not want to pay for their bills. Prime Minister Trudeau said the following last week:
“I think most Canadians are very supportive of having royals be here, but how that looks and what kind of costs are involved, there are still lots of discussions to have.”
Privacy?
Unlike the United Kingdom and United States, Canada is not known for having a major paparazzi or tabloid culture. However, commentators and legal experts have also pointed out that stepping outside of Britain’s boundaries means that the Sussexes will no longer have the same protection they did in Britain as Royals. While Canada does have similar privacy protection rules in place, they are regulated on a Provincial level. Photographers generally do not need the permission of people to photograph them, as long as they are not in a situation where privacy is expected.
Scenarios
A) A photographer openly takes a photograph of people from a distance. The people were in a public park flying kites. No violation here. Anyone could easily see him, they were not doing anything private, nor did anyone feel invaded.
B) A photographer takes a photograph of people at a park, but there also happened to be a woman breastfeeding. This would be a violation of privacy because the woman was doing a sensitive act, and he did not inform her that he was about to shoot a photograph.
C) A photographer takes a photograph of people playing soccer from behind some blackberry bushes. This an area of uncertainty. The soccer game was public, nor were there major expectations of privacy, but the way he took the photograph was dishonest. If people were to find out how took it, he would have been criticized as being creepy. Some, depending on the circumstances, would have even brought it further to court.
What The Experts Say
Vancouver media lawyer Dan Burnett said the Sussexe’s expectation of privacy in Canada would depend on the individual situation if they decided to take a problem to court. Ingrid Seward, a royal biographer and editor of Majesty Magazine, said that she was surprised the couple were not expecting the paparazzi to follow them to Canada. Paparazzi have already taken photographs of the couple without their consent from day one, leading to them issuing legal warnings not to do this. To make matters creepier, the Sussexe’s reported that the paparazzi were hiding in bushes, with some even camped outside their homes with long lenses.
The Future
The move from the Sussexe’s will certainly have an impact on the Monarchy. The exact extent is currently unknown. It has certainly brought shock and upset to the Royal family. The United Kingdom, which is already going through uncertainty and challenges with Brexit, was naturally taken by surprise as well. There were many British that also supported the decision, however.
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