Frock horror: Woman wears nice dress
IN the best traditions of Private Eye, we kick off this week with an apology. You may have been under the impression that the British media had fallen more than a little in love with Ms Meghan Markle, soon to be married to Prince Harry, and considered her to be quite the best thing to happen to the fuddy-duddy royal family since the Leveson inquiry.
Following a change of heart, it has now become apparent to some commentators that instead of being A Very Good Thing, Ms Markle is now A Slightly Worrying Thing and could, if she is not careful, turn out to be A Decidedly Concerning Thing. We would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any confusion caused by this brief outbreak of giving a young woman far from home a fair shake.
The occasion for the changing of commentators’ minds (it’s like the changing of the guard but far less elegantly done) was the release of a set of official photos of the couple. Two shot in moody black and white, one colour, all drop-dead fabulously glamorous. Reaction has been swift, with the Mail’s Sarah Vine leading the way with a cover tease. Yes, says Ms Vine, here is a young couple who are obviously joyfully in love. So why, she asks, is she worried about these engagement pictures?
Oh, let’s see. Might it be because it is the run-up to Christmas and a hole in the paper has to be filled on a slow news day? Or could it be your other half, Environment discount was in order, given an image of the dress has now been flashed around the world. Prince Harry is also wearing clothes beyond the wildest flu dreams of a high street shopper, including a £995 coat and a suit more sharply tailored than 007’s. He does not, however, face the same accusations of lavishness.
In any case, criticising a young woman for wearing an expensive dress when she is soon to marry into one of the world’s wealthiest families is rather shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted three times around the world, pausing only to be fitted with fresh (non-designer) shoes. Why pretend she is, or is about to become, anything other than extraordinarily privileged? If one wants to object, should not criticism be directed at the entire institution of monarchy rather than one tiny manifestation of it?
But that would be too thorny a proposition and lead to many another awkward question. So why not pick away instead at a young woman’s choice of dress? An analyst might call such a misdirection of emotions “transference”. Feel free to use your own term for such a spectacular missing of the point.
It was inevitable that the media tide would turn against Ms Markle. One hopes she knew this would happen. More importantly, it is to be hoped she realises that in no time at all it will turn again.