It does not escape that the statements of the interview are extremely serious. Meghan says that in her time as a family member she experienced suicidal thoughts and that a royal king held racist conversations about the color of her baby’s skin.
Harry spoke of the lack of support and understanding for the toll that real life affected the couple’s mental health and added that the attacks they had suffered on the media could have come “within the institution”.
The version of events presented in the interview paints a picture of an outdated institution whose lack of flexibility left it unable to accommodate people facing completely normal challenges for public figures in the 21st century. Given the claims of 2018 that the union of these two people was a major step forward in the modernization of the most famous family on the planet, it is a tragedy, according to observers.
“Harry and Meghan were superstars who could have been such a positive thing for the family in their modernization,” says Kate Williams, a leading royal historian and professor of public engagement with history at the University of Reading in the UK. “The fact that it was clear from the interview that they felt they had no choice but to leave because the family did not support them in the face of racist abuse and clear mental health concerns is very worrying.”
This narration will no doubt be a feature of much of the post-interview commentary and should be a real concern for Harry’s relatives in the UK. While there is great public support for Queen Elizabeth and the monarchy she currently rules, the question of what comes after her in modern Britain has not yet been really examined in any detail.
“Overall, support for the monarchy and support for the queen correlate,” said Joe Twyman, director of public opinion consulting firm Deltapoll. Still, he points out that the queen, unlike many other family members, is calm and very rarely gives her opinion on anything.
It is possible that many conservative and traditionalist monarchists are not so happy that Charles ascended the throne. The Prince of Wales has spoken at length in public about environmental issues and climate change, and it is not true that supporters of his narrow-mouthed mother will transfer his affections.
What might worry the family even more, especially in light of this interview, is what the younger generations think of the monarchy.
“Among the younger ones, the support for Meghan is about the same as that of Kate, much more traditional, compared to the older British who don’t like Meghan so much,” Twyman explained. “While we don’t know if it’s an age or a cohort and these people can be more conservative as they get older, it’s entirely possible that the generation that believes the royal family will keep a rigid upper lip and not talk about issues like rights and mental health will be exhausted. For people of a certain generation, the idea of bowing to your grandmother every time you see her just because she is the queen seems crazy. ” .
According to the couple, these concerns were raised about the color of their baby’s skin before he was born and could have consequences beyond a public relations disaster for the royal family. The British monarch is currently head of state of many Commonwealth countries, once a diplomat for the United Kingdom.
“We know that some members of the Commonwealth intend to delete the file [British] monarch as head of state once Elizabeth is gone, “Williams said. In many Commonwealth nations, Britain’s colonial past is already a hard pill to swallow.
Meghan addressed it directly in the interview, describing how she believed she and Harry’s baby would provide an “added benefit” to the people of the Commonwealth. “How inclusive is that you can see someone who looks like you in this family,” he said.
CNN has contacted the royal family for comment.
For others, however, the fact that Meghan’s race was such a prominent issue when she joined the royal family is a sign that the claims of a modernizing monarchy were, at best, a thought. eager.
“Personally, I think it’s a really good thing, as it shows that all the noise around the wedding that was a big time for the royal family to become more inclusive was completely false,” says Kehinde Andrews, a professor of black studies at the City University, Birmingham. “It undeniably exposes the way racism exists in British society and the closure of an institution that is the royal family. Silence and maintaining the image is more important than really doing anything that matters.”
If the royal family wants to get past this, they will have to go through a period of reflection and take their relatives ’claims seriously. If the institution wants to avoid looking irrelevant in a diverse and modern Britain, it needs to rethink the claims about Meghan’s 2018 reception.
“What’s important now is that they don’t put aside the half-idea initially proposed by Harry and Meghan. In 2021, are we saying that smaller minors can only be backups of William and Kate? If family and courtiers can’t seeing that a family like the Sussex is a positive thing in the eyes of the public, then you have a big problem, ”Williams said.
From a public relations standpoint, this interview is groundbreaking for “The Firm,” as the royal family is often called. While we haven’t heard the other side of the story, the fact that two well-known family members were willing to publish the record to say they felt so inadequate of support that one of them felt he was being killed is horrible.
Realistic supporters already reject the couple’s claims as a performance. While this might go well with a very specific group of people in Britain, it does not escape the unfortunate moment for an institution whose future is not certain, as its current head is no longer here.