Everything Wrong With the Royal Institution

graphic by bailey kretschmer

Oprah’s interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry felt like the event of the year. Maybe it was the coronavirus boredom talking but we were on the edge of our seats for the full two hours. And it was some TEA. 

We always guessed that the Royal family is racist, but Meghan Markle and Prince Harry just confirmed it. It has come to light that Meghan, who is of African and Caucasian descent, was pregnant at the time when someone in the royal family stated they were worried the baby would be ~too dark-skinned ~. Let’s just let that sink in for a sec. 

Harry would not identify the racist relative, and neither would Meghan (but our money is Prince Charles). The Royal family told Meghan that her baby, Archie, would not receive protection and security, which is completely unheard of. This is not just a random thing, this is a race thing. 

We can’t even fathom the amount of bravery it took for Meghan to speak out against the Royal Institution. They hold an insurmountable amount of power. Everyone knows about the Royal family, no matter what country they live in. So, getting on live television to call them out takes serious guts and serious time spent in therapy. 

The most unfortunate thing is that likely nothing drastic will happen to the Royal Family. They will go on being these all-knowing beings that everyone is forced to worship. They have come out and released a statement saying “recollections may vary.” Okay guys, nice try, but no one believes you. We have seen this throughout British history. Getting away with completely uprooting the lives of millions through colonization, and now they are gaslighting Meghan into thinking nothing traumatic happened to her when she was living under their care. It’s bull. 

FYI: While she was living at the Royal Castle, Meghan was not allowed to leave without permission, which was almost never granted. It was like she was in jail. A very, VERY nice jail, but you get the picture. She thought that if she accepted this treatment, she would earn protection. But that plan failed completely. It became clear that Archie was not going to be given security and her life was beginning to look more and more like Princess Diana’s. Harry, specifically, was not about to have a repeat of that. 

It got to the point where Meghan did not want to be alive anymore. She reached out to the Institution for help and got none. They left her in the condition she was in. If Harry had not gotten them out of there, who knows what could have happened! So, they moved to Canada where they were cut off financially from the Royal Family.

Meghan deserves a life of love and happiness. While she is getting that (for now), the Royal Family still needs to be held accountable. If we continue to excuse the racist actions of governing forces across the world, society will never move forward.