Why the Duchess is the ultimate, highly relatable millennial heroine
It’s the fairy tale that every girl of my generation grew up with: the prince falling for the cool, independent “just like us” woman in jeans, and then going on to marry her against the odds. Harry and Meghan’s was the love story we already knew off by heart.
And most of us were already predisposed to Team Meghan. As a strong, black, independent woman who’d carved out her own successful career before even meeting Harry, she was everything we admired. Their marriage was the breath of fresh air the Royal family needed, the boost of modernity that would make this British institution finally relatable to younger generations as well as people of colour; proof that long overdue diversity had filtered through.
So as time passed, and tabloid headlines moved on from racism (describing her as “(almost) Straight Outta Compton” and discussing her “exotic DNA”) to pedantic double standards, accusing her of “breaking royal protocol” for doing things that, by contrast, the Duchess of Cambridge was seemingly praised for (everything from wearing wedges to cradling her baby bump), my generation watched in sympathetic shock.
It seemed like, no matter what, Meghan could never win. Her Grenfell charity cookbook was claimed to have “terrorist” links, her (and our) love of avocados was blamed for mass murder, and every time Harry expressed a slightly “woke” opinion, she was accused of making him her puppet.
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were leaving the Royal family, it was no surprise. If anything, it was the perfect 21stcentury fairy tale ending, and my generation applauded their decision.
Baby boomers like my 60-year-old mum were (much) less forgiving. “It’s the way she went about it. I just don’t think Meghan gave it enough of a chance,” she says. “Being a royal is a job, and you have to go by their rules.”
Most of my friends’ mums feel the same way, believing Meghan knew what she was getting into – some even viewing her as a ruthless operator, with the intention of persuading Harry to leave the Royal family to move back to America and make billions.
It isn’t that my generation dislikes
‘Their marriage was the boost of modernity that would make this British institution finally relatable’
the Royal family. Some believe they are irrelevant, but most of my friends feel the way I do: we appreciate what they do for Britain but we hold them to the same standards as we do all institutions, in expecting them to be tolerant, supportive and understanding. Only it seems their treatment of Meghan, who claims she received a lack of support for her mental health while a member of the Royal family expressed “concerns” about how “dark” Archie’s skin would be, has been anything but.
The couple’s decision to speak to Oprah has been heavily criticised as hypocritical and insensitive, but to me, it’s the ultimate act of courage.
It remains to be seen whether their interview will dramatically change public opinion. But if my mum is anything to go by, it has already made an impact. “It’s hard to know what to believe now,” she muses.
“It can’t have been easy for her. I think I’ve become neutral now. Although I didn’t like Harry saying his dad stopped taking his calls. That’s a personal matter between the family.”
It’s no surprise that reactions to Harry and Meghan differ; older generations value privacy much more than those of us who have grown up oversharing on social media, and their love for duty is equal to our respect for breaking mental health taboos.
But in the same way that Diana, Princess of Wales was so widely admired by women of her generation who related to her relationship and mental health struggles, Meghan will always find support in her own generation – particularly from women of colour who know what it’s like to face racist comments that white people often can’t recognise, strong women who are labelled bullies for being assertive, and above all, any woman who has had to carve out her own happy ending.