The Monarchy Was Never Meant To Be A Brand
Disclaimer: I am American. This isn’t a personal attack – it is a cultural critique. The point is straightforward: American self-expression is incompatible with a British monarchy that survives by silencing it.
The first thing that I want to say before I go headfirst into this piece is, this is one that I never wanted to write. Why? Because in all honestly, my personal views on Meghan Markle are not favorable. But I have a friend, let’s call him Rob, that claims he is only reading my blog for Meghan because she’s hot. (His words.) So, this one is for you, bestie.
I am not here to be another voice box on the internet hating on her as a person; I do not know the woman. However, I can use her own words, actions, and behaviors to try to get to the bottom of what the hell the (her) problem is.
Okay. Let’s rage.
Let’s summarize this in the easiest way in case you are reading this and have no idea what I am talking about. Meghan Markle, an American actress and divorcee, married Prince Harry in 2018, but it wasn’t happily ever after. In 2020, frustrated with the world media and perceived lack of support from the royal institution, they decided to “step back” from the royal family to pursue their own interests (Netflix deals) and came to North America. Cleverly deemed “Megxit”, Meghan and Harry leaving caused a rift in the core of the royal family, made worse by their self-centered documentary on Netflix, the blasphemous “tell all” biography written by Harry, and an awkward interview with Oprah. They have 2 children and live in California.
First of all, to clear the air here, Meghan Markle did NOT fail the monarchy – and the monarchy did NOT fail her (like she has repeatedly claimed). What failed was the assumption that an institution built on restraint, silence, and inherited duty could bend itself around a modern culture rooted in self-expression and personal narrative.
It was a total cultural mismatch. American social norms, media instincts, and expectations of self-expression absolutely collide with a British monarchy literally designed to suppress extreme individuality in service of continuity.
From the moment Meghan entered royal life (which she claims she was not “prepped” for), the tension was inevitable. Again, it almost has nothing to do with her as a person, that she lacked intelligence, ambition, or compassion, but because she viewed the monarchy as a “platform”. It is not a platform, it is not a brand, and it certainly isn’t a space for personal reinvention. The monarchy is a system that survives by asking its members to become smaller so the Crown can endure. Meghan, coming from a modern celebrity culture, was either not willing to accept that request or was fundamentally able to.
So where did she go wrong?
Meghan loved the royal status but rejected the discipline that sustained that status. The monarchy does not adapt to a personal vision; it survives because it resists it. She prioritized her self-definition, narrative control, and public affirmation while holding on to her royal title and completely misread or underestimated both the limits and whole purpose of the Crown. Maybe it wasn’t a failure of intention, but it was a failure of strategy.
Meghan and Harry, while struggling to fall into being modern members of the royal family, tried being “part time” working royals. This pretty much meant that they got to keep their status, their taxpayer funded security, without having to follow the “rules” of what it meant to be a working member of the royal family.
Spoiler alert: The Queen said no. God rest her petty soul. Love her. Institutions built on continuity do not survive compromise by convenience.
Where does that leave them now?
They are still living their perceived best lives in Montecito, California, with their 2 children, and some weird lifestyle brand Meghan created. (It’s called As Ever, and if you want overpriced jam, head to her website. I hear she’s constantly selling out, though so fair warning.) Besides their documentary on Netflix, As Ever has its own show where she wraps books in scarves to give as gifts and shows the viewer how to cook things like avocado toast. (Yawns in American.) Harry, on the other hand, is living with the fact that his father and brother have no issue icing him out and in my mind is trying to figure out what to actually do with his life.
My Personal Take:
I know I said this wasn’t going to be a personal attack, and my personal views on Meghan Markle will not be helpful but since I am already here….
Like I said. I am American. Being the royal specialist I am, even I thought it was totally ridiculous for Meghan to marry into the British royal family. I was screaming, not because of how cool it was that an American woman got to marry a real prince, but because this exact situation has ALREADY played out in England and it did not end well. (Google Wallis Simpson.) We, meaning Americans, do not have the best track record when it comes to joining the royal family. (Seriously, Google Wallis Simpson.) And the best part? Meghan claimed she had no idea who he was when she met him, and “didn’t know much” about Princess Diana.
Ok, now without revealing my age (because I am a lady), I do happen to be of similar age to Meghan Markle and grew up in the 80’s and 90’s in America…. where Princess Diana was on the cover of EVERY magazine at the checkout at the supermarket. Now maybe Meghan’s mom didn’t love Princess Diana as much as my mother did, but Prince Charles and Princess Diana were in the news a lot, and the world literally STOPPED when Princess Diana died. There is no way in hell Meghan can convince me she didn’t know who Harry was, and honestly, I’m calling B.S. on the Diana comment too. Fight me.
Also, I don’t think that she can convince me that she wasn’t “taught” how to properly curtsey. Anyone that watched that Netflix documentary saw that RIDICULOUS curtsey that she claimed she did when she met the Queen for the first time. It might be true that no one from the institution showed her how she was to behave in front of the Queen, but I read online that Meghan attended Catholic school growing up. So did I. Know what they taught us there? Genuflecting. And that is pretty similar to a curtsey, and it would have been a hell of a lot less disrespectful if she had done that in front of the Queen instead.
Ultimately, I find myself coming back to one question. How narcissistic does one have to be to decide that a 1000-year-old monarchy from another country needs modernization, and believe that they are the one to do it? I am not arguing here that the monarchy doesn’t need any change. What I am saying that Meghan Markle entered the royal family and expected it to bow down to HER, and when it didn’t, she threw a tantrum and took one of their Princes and now has him feeding chickens on ranch in California. (I do not know if they live on a ranch; I just saw chickens in their Oprah interview, so I just assumed.)
Well. I guess she told them.
:curtsies in American:
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Comments
Rob here. Yes Meghan is hot my words. Although you make valid points we need to look at it from her point of view. How would she feel trying to get into that family. She needed to be perfect not only in the family’s eyes but also in the eyes of the public. She was under a microscope, all of her so called failures would be blown up to the point she couldn’t make it out if she wanted to. The amount of pressure that she is able to withstand and still carry herself the way she does speaks volumes. Maybe she isn’t the traditional duchess. But maybe she was just what they needed someone to bring a different perspective and edge to the thrown. It’s very easy to say she failed but how many would t even try.
To claim ignorance of how the royal family works when you were dating a prince is outrageous. Every person who marries into a family learned the dynamics of that family before the marriage, and they made a choice. She is an opportunist. She saw this marriage as a way to project and promote her “brand “. This was a business move. Dumb Harry fell for it and is now stuck with the consequences. Just another bad decision on his part. There are probably literally thousands of other girls who would’ve just fallen in line, and are just as nice and pretty as Meghan Markle. The unfortunate part is it seems Harry likes the drama. He thinks he is the center of the world….no one is that interested. The ego is just… ew.