A very Californian exercise in grievance
Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, was welcomed to Britain, by Britons, with open arms. Her wedding to Prince Harry, as he was then styled, was one of the most splendid ceremonies of recent years, in which the nation rejoiced and echoed the couple’s happiness. “The Duchess has rapidly won the affection of the nation and the world,” The Sunday Telegraph noted the morning after the wedding. “Twenty, even 10 years ago, it would have been inconceivable for a mixedrace, divorced American actress to marry the son of a future king. That she has done so, to such public acclaim, reflects not just how much the country has changed for the better, but also the personal qualities of the Duchess herself.”
Those words did not mask some grim intention to hound and harass, as the Duke and Duchess now seem to imagine. Rather they reflected a genuine outpouring of affection for a woman whose love for her prince united us all as a symbol of modern, diverse Britain, even if Ms Markle herself was not a member of Britain’s numerous ethnic minority diasporas. The country’s welcoming generosity continued into the Duchess’s first months of official engagements, with large crowds awaiting her every visit.
How sadly, and how swiftly, has that affection foundered on what has turned out to be a fundamental misunderstanding by the Sussexes. In their self-indulgent introspections, the couple appear confused about, or perhaps resentful of, the unique dual role performed by the monarchy, at once both family and institution, which means that, however unusual it is, hierarchy permeates and animates it. This naturally meant that the Duke’s elder brother, William, directly in line to the throne, a future head of state, would be treated differently to him.
Here was no personal slight, but a simple recognition of the institutional facts, which have safeguarded the monarchy, and the stability of the British constitution, for centuries. It is sad that the Sussexes found this difference of treatment upsetting, but it should not have come as a surprise. And, directed by protocol, it was certainly not motivated by race.
Race is, in the Duke’s mind, the defining difference to the scrutiny that he and his wife have been submitted to, compared to that attracted by other royals. While its claims are vague, the Sussexes’ documentary appears to suggest that racism permeates British history – and perhaps that Britain itself is a racist country. This idea is pernicious, wrong and offensive. Of course, discrimination exists, as it does in every country, but here it is challenged. The Royal family in particular has led efforts to unite not just Britain’s ethnic minority communities through their charitable service, but the Commonwealth beyond.
A more accurate interpretation of the Sussexes’ gripes may be that they are nothing more than the occasional bruised ego, wounded sensitivity, or sheer miscommunication that characterises countless ordinary relationships within families. When they concern active members of the Royal family or loyal servants who cannot publicly respond, however, it is sad to see these gripes being aired in public. Moreover, the couple appear to display a childish lack of respect for British customs and culture: acting out how the Duchess was made to curtsy before the late Queen, for instance, might well be seen as making a mockery.
The monarchy’s continued service – quiet, dignified, often in the name of communities truly on the margins, in poverty, with far greater reason to feel aggrieved than well-heeled residents of America’s West Coast – will outlast the five minutes of hype derived from a Netflix show. It is the best response to attention seeking. Certainly, there should be no attempt to indulge the politics of racial division that is constantly being forced upon British society from across the pond. That way lies problems, as we have seen with the resignation of Lady Susan Hussey, a loyal servant of the late Queen, following a media campaign spearheaded by a race-obsessed activist. Leave that to the cineastes, the content curators of California.
The late Queen knew that continuity was paramount. Wiser, then, for the Windsors to let their actions speak for themselves, to continue with the unselfish dedication that they have shown for so long, and which has earned the enduring admiration of the British people.