Hello hello friends and happy Monday. Have you been as swept up in all this Royal Family drama as I have been? I have always loved the Royal Family and my sisters & I growing up thought William and Harry were so cute-- I mean what teenage girl in the early 2000's didn't??
I've loved keeping up with them as they've gotten married, had children, and I am sure here for all the recent drama!! I've watched the Netflix docuseries, I've read Harry's book, and now I'm here to share my thoughts. I'd love for you to leave me a comment with your thoughts too!
Let me start by saying in the beginning, I LOVED Harry and Meghan. I thought they were adorable together, and I loved her sense of style and the freshness she brought to the family. I love how eloquently spoken she is, and her calm demeanor. There's no denying she has perfected the messy bun.
I was the person who would defend Meghan and Harry 'til the cows came home... but some cracks started showing in the Oprah interview and only got worse with each interview. Now I don't know what/who to believe. There are a lot of inconsistencies/disingenuous comments they've made. I think when they tell "their truth", they are twisting it and only telling the parts that corroborate with the narrative they want to tell. That being said, after having read Harry's book, it is very clear his mom's death even still affects his life daily. His hatred/mistrust of the press has surely carried over into a paranoia about Meghan, which I think probably caused her to be paranoid as well. If you are fascinated by all the Royal Family drama as well, I highly recommend Harry's book. It will give you a lot of insight into why he is the way he is.
Long story short, I flip-flop between having sympathy for them, or thinking they are making their own troubles worse, then back to having sympathy again. Those two are a roller coaster for sure!
One thing I think is important to point out: there was definitely tension in the Royal Family pre-Meghan, she didn't cause all of this, but I do think she exacerbated problems that already existed.
Oprah Interview
I understood this interview as a way to explain why they left, why they moved where they moved, and for them to come clean about how bad their struggles with mental health had gotten. I think it takes a lot of courage to admit to a mental health struggle, and I do believe that Meghan was as low as she told Oprah she was. I can see where Harry would have been very worried about Meghan, and having read his book, I can understand why his response was to get his family away from the media.
There were a few cringe-y moments, like Meghan comparing herself to the Little Mermaid, "the princess who lost her voice because she fell in love." (Major eye roll here), but overall I still felt pretty favorable towards them.
Meghan's Podcast, Archetypes
This is where things really started to slip for me.
I was curious to hear what Meghan's podcast would be like, and I love how well-spoken and intelligent she is. I made it through the first 4 episodes before I realized, "wait, every episode of this podcast all comes back to how Meghan was treated poorly and was called names by the press." GIRL. WE ALREADY KNOW.
You have a platform where millions of people listen to you weekly... and rather than using it to do something positive in the world, you find a way to complain about being treated badly? Every single episode felt very negative to me, under the guise of promoting women's equality. Why can't we promote women in a positive way? And why does it all have to come back to Meghan being a victim?
When I compare this to Princess Diana after the divorce and "leaving" the Royal Family, Diana had plenty to complain about, but instead chose to spend her time working with AIDS patients, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, etc. and using her fame for good. It was never about her. I think this podcast is a real missed opportunity for Meghan to: A) leave the world a better place and B) improve her image
I texted my sisters after each episode that instead of the podcast making me like her more, I was coming away from each episode liking her less. I had been hoping for the opposite because I really liked Meghan.
I had previously heard Meghan called narcissistic, and after listening to the podcast I could actually see it a little.
Netflix Series
Ugh. Again, mixed reviews here. They absolutely have real things to be upset about, but then I also think they come across as a little deceitful. For example, at one point Meghan said she "had no idea people would be lining the streets on our wedding day."
What? There's no way that's possible. And what a weird thing to lie about?
Royal Wedding hysteria was everywhere. There is no way she didn't know people were excited and would watch the procession? There is no way her team of people hadn't told her "you will get into this car at the castle and drive past the fans on the way to the chapel." I'm calling it, it's 100% a lie. And if you lie about something silly like that, what else are you lying about? It doesn't make sense to me.
The whole "I couldn't wear bright colors" thing? As she was describing it, Netflix showed multiple pictures of her wearing neutral colors while Kate and Camilla wore bright colors next to the Queen. If they were allowed, why wouldn't she have been?
But I very much believe that members of William and Kate's press team leaked stories about Meghan in order to stop stories of William's affair from leaking. I do believe that she was the scapegoat and the institution fed stories about her to the press so they would move on from covering Prince Andrew. Which is obviously very wrong.
Harry's Book
I think I could do a whole post just about this book.
The book made me realize that Prince Harry is fighting a very real mental health battle, and has been for a long time. This book explains a lot about why Harry does some of the things he does, his extreme hatred and paranoia of the press, and how his paranoia could've bled over into Meghan and his family.
Harry's book really brought to light how much he suffered after his mom's death and he never received any support during such a terrible time. The family never received therapy and their way of dealing with the grief was to just move on and not talk about it.
There was one part of the Diana chapters that really stood out to me. When Harry and William should have been grieving the loss of their mom, they were taken outside to shake people's hands and thank them for their support. Harry said he was bothered by how many people were crying that never even knew her, and he, at 12 years old, was expected to be strong for them. He also recounted how traumatic it was to have to walk behind his mother's coffin before the funeral, so other people could see their grief.
I think this actually answers a lot of questions about why he was so quick to get Meghan away from the press, and his intense anger about why the family didn't support them. There is a lot more to this book, but the long and short of it is that I ended up coming back around to feeling sympathy for Harry and Meghan. I think he is doing the best he can, and people can be way too hard on him.
Whew! That's a lot and yet I feel like I barely scratched the surface! I'd love to know your thoughts/opinions about all this. Where do you stand? Do H&M drive you crazy? Do you feel bad for them? Or do you simple not care (Devin's answer haha!)?
Today I am linking up with Sarah and Holly for Hello Monday. Have a great week!
Girl...YES to ALL of this...I am exactly where you are with it all....so very torn...valid points and starting to see the dark side...Amen
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh I am so happy to read this post because I have been totally obsessed with the whole Harry and Meghan drama. I have always liked the royal family but I think that 'The Institution" is the problem. Harry is clearly traumatised by what happened with his mum and he sounds fed up with his family's "never explain, never complain" policy. I still really like Harry and Meghan and haven't noticed any cracks in their stories. I will have to listen to Meghans podcast and I am waiting to borrow Harry's book from the library. Anyway I better stop there because I could go on and on! I hope you have a great week.
ReplyDeleteRuth@playworkeatrepeat
Since I haven't really followed along this whole time I was surprised about the book being controversial. I think I'll read it and try to learn more about Harry! It seems like he's had a difficult life.
ReplyDeleteI am about as up to speed as you are, except for the book. I started out as a huge M+H fan but started flip-flopping after the Oprah interview. I could not make up my mind about them. I listened to her podcast but I didn’t have the same takeaway as you. I only thought it could have had more substance but overall fine, and I love her voice. However after watching the Netflix series and hearing about the book, I am firmly in support of them. I don’t think we have to understand why they do everything they do and have it all make perfect sense. The lines between the Institution and the Press are so very clear. I have also been, and continue to be, fans of W+C, and I support Charles as my King, but it appears they have chosen to tote the same old line and really bristled at any change suggested by M+H. I could go on, and may do in my own post. I will read the book when I get a chance. -Sarah M. @TorontoSam
ReplyDeleteWilliam had an affair? How did I miss that?
ReplyDeleteI haven't been following along much because while I do enjoy reading about the royal family I was much more caught up in the Queen herself and Princess Di; I don't know much about this "newer" generation (weird I know since they are more my contemporaries than their mother and grandmother! HA)... but my grandmother was a huge fan and kept me apprised of the family and recommended books to me about them that were focused more on the older generation of women.
ReplyDeleteoh...I love this recap of it all! You are so on point. I do want to read his book.
ReplyDeleteI have to say Harry and Meghan drive me crazy. What bothers me most is that they could have moved to the US and used their fame to really make a difference in so many areas - charity work, the podcast, the Netflix deal etc. And like many say, for people who claimed to want privacy, they sure seem to want a lot of media attention. On the other hand, I do think he is unstable because of the death of Diana. It all sounds like a really complicated and dysfunctional situation. Great post breaking it all down!
ReplyDeleteOh, reading this post has made me so happy because I've been completely engrossed in the Harry and Meghan drama. Although I've always admired the royal family, I believe "The Institution" is the problem. I adore Harry and Meghan, and I don't see any flaws in their love story. I'll have to listen to Meghan's podcast, and I'm waiting for permission from the library to borrow Harry's book. Now it's time to avail of this classification essay ideas I hope you have a fantastic week.
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