Give royals a break

Meghan Markle may have starred in a long-running television series, however her new life as a royal is entirely different. She will sometimes need downtime and space, of which there was little at an event during her visit to Fiji. The Duchess was overwhelmed. While the pregnancy is being downplayed, inevitably she will become weary and need a rest.

Society expects too much because women have bought into the belief they are expected to be “everything and anything to everybody” and have babies as if “it’s a walk in the park”, out of hospital within 24 hours of the birth and back at work before the baby’s first teeth appear.

It is insane because pregnancy and childbirth are challenging, especially the first time, and it is time society acknowledged this and gave women the downtime they need.

Surely the royal family will be taking heed and have learned from the pressure Princess Diana faced. There are two people painfully aware of that, which is why William and Harry will ensure history is not repeated for Kate and Meghan. They are human and have limitations on the level of stress they can withstand.

Leonie Wilkinson, Waiuku.