Meghan tests royal appetite for reform
LONDON: Hailed as a breath of fresh air in a stuffy institution, Prince Harry’s wife Meghan is set to test the limits of the British monarchy’s desire to modernise when their baby arrives this month.
Meghan’s new-age ideals and US glitz have already raised eyebrows during her pregnancy. How she intends to bring up the baby, who will be seventh in line to the throne, will only increase the scrutiny.
The Mail on Sunday reported that Meghan had already broken with royal tradition by appointing her own delivery team without “the men in suits” – a reference to gynaecologists working in the Royal Household.
The royal family rarely issues statements reacting to media reports but, in a sign of potential battles to come, it denied a recent story in Vanity Fair that Meghan wanted to bring the baby up gender-neutral.
The magazine had quoted a source close to Meghan as saying that the couple “have already planned a gender-neutral nursery... and this seems to be in line with Meghan’s ideas about how to raise children”.
A spokesman for Kensington Palace, the couple’s London residence, called the story “totally false”.
Meghan, who grew up in California and is a long-time advocate of holistic treatments, was recently spotted visiting an upmarket boutique that offers homoeopathic treatments for new mothers, the Daily Mail reported.
Other signs of her influence include her reportedly convincing her husband to eat less meat, joining in her vegan diet during the week.
Meghan’s arrival in the royal family was greeted with optimism that her star power and modern culture savvy would help make the institution relevant in the era of social media and celebrity mania.
But the monarchy must walk a fine line, also remaining true to its core purpose of serving the British public, both officially and symbolically.