I did not watch the whole thing but read a few pieces here and there. This one gives a pretty good highlight of the main takeaways.
No Bombshell From the Interview
Honestly I did not see much of a bombshell, as I was expecting something about the Queen herself. But Meghan (and Harry) specifically praised the Queen, the only person that matters as the ultimate decision maker on the royal family.
Meghan made a smart choice of talking to her husband about how she felt, otherwise it would have been a tragedy if she killed herself.
Baby Skin Color Should Not Be Off Limits
I see no need to overreact to the information revealed in the interview. The most “shocking” news is about the skin color of Archie, but even there I saw some difference between what Meghan said and Prince Harry said. The Guardian quoted Meghan’s words: “In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of, ‘You won’t be given security, not gonna be given a title’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”
But the same newspaper reported that “Harry refused to share the details of the conversation but, after prompting from Winfrey, said the questions was along the lines of: “What will the kids look like?”
Whether the royal family member(s) were just having a “conversation” or having a “concern” about Archie’s kin color is the key difference. Unfortunately, Meghan put the two words together, apparently because she did not hear the words directly, only from Prince Harry.
Missing A Key Question In the Interview
Having a “conversation” about Archie’s skin color is normal, especially among family members during a casual chat. Being sensitive to races does not mean putting skin color off limits, even for an unborn baby. After all, Meghan is only half black, and Harry all white, I can see myself wondering about what Archie skin may look like. It is only natural to be curious about an unborn baby: How s/he looks, whether s/he will look more like the father or mother. No harm intended there.
Having a “concern” about the skin color is something totally different. This is where I think Winfrey missed the key question during the interview. She was too eager to find out who said that, without first ascertaining what exactly had been said. She did ask Meghan if the baby were “to be too brown, that would be a problem?” But Meghan was the wrong person to ask — she was not there during the conversation. Winfrey should have asked Prince Harry about whether he viewed it as just a conversation or a concern.
Being A Mature Man Helps
The other issue is that Prince Harry should not have told Meghan about the conversation. By now we can safely assume that Meghan is a powerful influencer over Prince Harry, because she is the one making Prince Harry realized that he was trapped in the royal family institution. But a mature man would not tell everything said by family members.
Here is what he should have done. If he sensed that his family members were just having a light conversation about the unborn Archie, he can relax and enjoy the chat — but not pass the words of others to Meghan. Prince Harry knew better than anyone else that Meghan had issues with other family members. It is likely for Meghan to take a harmless conversation in a wrong way. Therefore it is best not to get Meghan informed, and that would do Meghan and other family members a favor.
If the family members were having a “concern,” Prince Harry would be in the best position to tell. He should have told family members right there that it was wrong to have even raised the concern. He could say something like “Archie will be my son, and it is not your business to worry about what skin color he will have! I do not want to hear anything like this again in the future.” He can then walk away and end of discussion!
Either way, Harry should not share the conversation with Meghan, because doing that could only make the situation worse. A royal family is just like a normal family, and Harry plays a key role as the “middleman” between Meghan and his own family. It helps to keep in mind that not long ago Meghan was a total stranger to other members of Harry’s family, and if Harry did not serve as the constructive bridge between the two sides, the relationship is bound to fail.
The Divorce Could Have Been Avoided
I tend to think that both sides had good intention and it is mostly miscommunications that are to be blamed. The Brits tend to hold things up to themselves and are not as good communicators as Americans are. One good example is that Prince Charles, the father of Prince Harry, did not come to the phone when Harry called. Later he asked Harry to put it down in writing what he wants to talk about! This would come off as totally absurd by most Americans.
Regarding the royal family not offering a title to Archie, I have a hypothesis that since Meghan had come across as left leaning progressive, the Queen and her lieutenants may think that an official title to her son would be seen as an insult rather than an honor. What they should have done is to have someone asking Harry about the title. At a minimum, do not tie the security with the title, meaning still provide royal protection to Archie even though he has no title.
Meghan is a sensitive type for sure, and she had cried a lot since moved into the palace. I am sympathetic to her, given she was the only person of color in the royal family, making her more sensitive to how others treating her. On the other hand, being overly sensitive could indicate low self-confidence or insecurity, which could ruin relationships.
The Updates Today
One possibility of linking everything to race: This morning I saw this report from UK, which I think clarifies things. It turned out that “Meghan Markle’s bombshell suggestion that her son Archie was banned from being a prince amid concerns over how ‘dark’ he would be appear to be refuted by rules laid down by King George V.”
“King George V – the Queen’s grandfather – issued a written order ruling that only royal offspring who are in the direct line of succession could be made a prince or princess and receive titles of His or Her Royal Highness (HRH).”
“Under the rules, only Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge’s eldest son Prince George – as a great-grandson of the monarch down the direct line of succession to the throne – was originally entitled to be a prince.”
“Under the George V rules, Archie would still be entitled to be an HRH or a prince when his grandfather Charles, the Prince of Wales, accedes to the throne.”
The above have made it very clear that having a title or not has little to do with the skin color of Archie, as Meghan has inclined to say during the interview.
In another piece unrelated to the royal family but more with the media in UK, Meghan stated that everyone should have some “basic privacy.” In her own words, “If you’re at work and you have a photograph of your child on your desk, and your coworker says, ‘Oh, my gosh, your kid’s so cute. That’s fantastic! Can I see your phone so I can see all the pictures of your child?’ You go, ‘No. This is the picture I’m comfortable sharing with you.'”
My view is different from Meghan’s. What she defined as basic privacy actually applied to ordinary people, in which the defining feature is that the individual has total control over what to share and what not. Once you are a celebrity, the rule of the game changes.
Why? Because as a public figure, the demand for knowing things about you is higher. What get to be revealed in public is no longer completely up to you, but to a game or a tug-of-war between you and public. For private citizens, there is little social demand for information about you. As a result, you have more control over it and the society is fine with that. With higher social demand, things get trickier and it has to reach a balance between the two sides.
Finally, about Meghan being “silenced,” it does not have to be against her in particular, but rather due to the centuries long tradition. All things considered, it may be good for both sides that the couple left the country.