Learning Curve MEGHAN SPEAKS OUT!
THE DUTCHESS CATCHES FLAK FOR CONTINUING TO REVEAL HOW SHE STRUGGLED IN THE ROYAL FAMILY.
No sooner had Meghan Markle’s new podcast dropped than the backlash began. For the first episode of Spotify’s Archetypes, the duchess sat down with her old friend, tennis great Serena Williams, 40, to discuss ambition and motherhood, as well as to, as the podcast promises, “investigate, dissect and subvert the labels that hold women back.”
During the intimate chat, the 41-year-old brought up an incident that would terrify any new mom: After she and husband Prince Harry dropped 4-month-old Archie at their lodging during a tour of South Africa, the couple headed for a royal engagement in Nyanga. “We finish the engagement,” the former Suits star recalled, “and they say there’s been a fire at the residence. What? There’s been a fire in the baby’s room.” Despite her protests, the distraught new mom was then pressured to attend another engagement. “The focus ends up on being how it looks instead of how it feels,” she concluded.
The criticism was swift, if expected, with royal “sources,” downplaying the incident, saying a heater had smoked a bit and quickly been unplugged. Archie, now seventh in line to the throne, they sniff, was never in danger. Pundits in British tabloids excoriated the American-born Meghan — who stepped back from royal duties and moved to the U.S. with Harry in 2020 — as “whiny.” Her “victimhood knows no bounds,” read a typical opinion, while another suggested the duchess “grow a set.”
It’s par for the course now whenever Meghan — and increasingly Harry — speak out after their bombshell 2021 interview. “Meghan’s happy to be free from the royal family and to have a voice again,” an insider tells Star. “Yes, there was a backlash, but Meghan is used to being slammed by critics and is glad she spoke out.” ★