Why does the world hate Meghan Markle?

It isn’t out of the ordinary for women in the public eye to be dragged through the media mud, especially women in the public eye and especially women of colour.

Princess Margret was deemed a wild child and a party girl, Kate Middleton was continuously mocked for hanging around waiting for Prince William to propose to her; she was branded as ‘Waity Katie’ and the ‘commoner’. Princess Diana suffered obsessive media stalking – even in the final moments of her life, she was fleeing the vicious eyes of the press.

However, unlike the new Princess of Wales, the criticism surrounding Meghan Markle, a woman of colour, hasn't boiled over after her marrying into ‘the firm’. If anything the hate and trolling has only grown as Markle came into the royal spotlight.

Meghan Markle has been labelled ‘narcissist’ and ‘manipulative liar’ whose sole purpose in life is to destroy the monarchy and bring shame to Britain. Despite the new King’s brother, Prince Andrew being friends with Jeffery Epstein, a sex offender, paying out c.£12,000,000 to a victim of sex trafficking whom accused him of sex abuse. 

The hate Meghan Markle receives is more than most sex offenders. Her crime? No one seems to know. 

Despite her empowering feminist speech at the UN, raising awareness for various charities, speaking up against racism and being an all-around pretty amazing woman, the majority of stories published about her are harsh, misogynistic and cruel. 

Her father and siblings painted her out to be stubborn and spoiled. Over $3.5 million has been made by numerous YouTube accounts whose only content is to devise weird rumours about Markle for entertainment (don’t forget the YoutTube accounts that profiteered from mocking Amber Heard, a victim of domestic abuse). The British tabloids were recently exposed for trying to bribe a previous co-star of Markle’s to say they slept together. The main difference between ‘the Meghan hate project’ compared to the rest of the female royal family members is that both the press and the public have hurled racist insults and comments at her.

In early 2021, after Harry and Meghan left their life in the UK, they agreed to a televised interview with Oprah where Markle revealed that a senior member of the royal family was concerned about the skin colour of their unborn baby – and when their son was born, the monarchy refused to give Archie an official royal title.

Issues of racism and mistreatment have surrounded Meghan and her treatment in the media throughout her relationship and marriage to Harry. This came even painfully apparent when Megan fell pregnant with her first child. The media ridiculed everything resembling her. To what she ate, her hand on her pregnant stomach, the way she dressed and it goes on. 

An even more concerning part of this blatant bullying was that some journalists who were writing character-attacking articles about Meghan also wrote about Kate Middleton when she was pregnant. Cute headlines about Kate when she was pregnant: “Bumping along nicely! The Duchess was seen placing a protective hand on her tummy as she exited the event." Compared that to the Daily Mail, headline about Meghan doing the exact same thing as Kate, which read "Personally, I find the cradling a bit like those signs in the back of cars: Baby on Board. Virtue signalling, as though the rest of us barren harridans deserve to burn alive in our cars”.

‘News’ outlets really started scraping the bottom of the barrel with headlines and stories regarding both women enjoying avocados.  Kate’s read  "Prince William was given one of the green fruit – wrapped up in a bow – by a little boy whose mother is suffering during her pregnancy too... 'He said he'd take it to [Kate] and see what happens – and said good luck for [the boy's] mummy’”, Express, 2017. Compared to the absurd headline from the same newspaper about Meghan, "The pregnant Duchess of Sussex and so-called 'avocado on toast whisperer' is wolfing down a fruit linked to water shortages, illegal deforestation and all-around general environmental devastation." 

Let’s not forget the wedding flower debacle. For Kate’s wedding: "As far as bridal bouquets go there was nothing particularly regal about Kate Middleton’s modest arrangement of simple, seasonal flowers. Like the bride herself, the bouquet was effortlessly elegant and understated.” 

Compared to Megan’s headline, "[Meghan Markle] was holding a wedding bouquet which flowers were replicated in Princess Charlotte and the other bridesmaids’ flower crowns. Express.co.uk can now reveal the children’s crowns were made of flowers that can be deadly, especially for children”. Deadly? Really? 

The most ironic part of this lunacy is that the flower in question, lily of the valley, was also in Kate’s bouquet. Two women in very similar positions use the same flower, yet one is hailed as ‘well-versed in the language of flowers whilst the other is seen as making ‘a dangerous decision’ which ‘can be deadly, especially for children.’ 

Meghan has been the fall woman for everything. The British press has long been critical of both women and people of colour, especially those who dare to join ‘the firm’. Remember when #MeghanMarkleGoHome trended?

Despite all the hate and criticisms, Meghan receives in the media, there doesn't seem to be one thing that she has done wrong. Oh wait, she’s a woman with an opinion.

The glaringly obvious fact is that she is both mixed race and American. It’s been reported that there were dozens of tweets and magazine articles in the weeks leading up to Meghan and Harry’s wedding that mentioned Meghan’s “exotic DNA” and pointed out how “progressive” the British royals were for bringing a person of colour into their family.

So, if you find yourself saying you don't like Meghan Markel but can't exactly “pinpoint why” or “it’s just a gut feeling” you probably need to stop reading tabloid headlines that criticise a woman of colour for doing the exact same thing as a white woman.