CrownsOfBritain

Let’s face it— there’s always a cyber war waging between the Pro-Meghan and Anti-Meghan camps. As a person who is, admittedly, an Anti-Meghan person, and growing tired of receiving the same boring comments on social media, I’ve penned some general answers below— largely because the “arguments” the Pro-Meghan ladies come up with are predictable, unoriginal and downright boring. Of course, if they are any questions about any of the below, you know where I am; parked up on my sofa with a glass of red. So…

“Why do you have a problem with how she spends her money?”
Because first of all, it’s not her money. Her and Harry don’t have day-jobs stacking shelves in Tesco — the money they live on and spend (like it’s going out of fashion, in Meghan’s case) is predominantly from the British taxpayer; if you think otherwise, I would suggest reading up and educating yourself on the matter. Charles has the Duchy of Cornwall estate, which yields some financial gain for the family, but it does not uphold the entire House of Windsor; and considering the Prince of Wales has been paying for all of Meghan’s very pricey clothing, I’d say she’s probably bankrupted the estate already. Nearly all of what they survive on is from the public— you can make damn sure of that. 

Oh, and I’m not getting into the argument about Harry’s inheritance money from Princess Diana either; that money was split between him and William, it wasn’t that much in the grand scheme of things and seeing as the last instalment came in for Hazza nearly five years ago now, you can bet there isn’t a lot left. We fund the royals — end of. 

“Meghan was rich before she married Harry— she doesn’t need his money.”

Once again, if this is a statement you’ve uttered, I’d invite you to revise it. She was a supporting actress on what was essentially a lowly cable show; how much money do you really think she made from that? It was Suits— not Game of Thrones. Maybe by the time she left Canada to move to the UK, she had a few million left, but compared to what the Windsors have in their back account, her money is basically pocket change. Meghan Markle is not in the same orbit, let alone the same field, as the likes of Jennifer Aniston; a stint on a TV show, where she was not even a main character, and a few straight-to-DVD films have almost certainly not made her a millionaire. 

“She can’t do anything right for you haters.”

Well, this is largely because she doesn’t attempt to. While engaged, she made at least a half-arsed attempt at towing the line, but once the ring went on, she ripped up the rule book faster than a shredder crunching paper.

Whether it’s her clothes, her etiquette or general demeanour, Meghan really hasn’t made a solid effort to look or act the part of a Royal Duchess over the last nine months. Like any member of the royal family, I’m sure she is given advice and guidance from the palace, but something tells me Meghan is sticking two fingers (or bananas) up at them. There is no way they are advising her to behave the way she is at the moment, so we can only deduce from this that she is hellbent on doing things her own way— which I’m sorry to say, won’t end well for her. 

“Her friends paid for her baby shower, so stop complaining.”

Let’s see the receipts then. One quick scan (if you’ll pardon the pun) of the “baby shower brigade” will tell you that the only women there with any real money were Amal Clooney and Serena Williams, and even then, only one of those women has made her own money herself. 

Jessica Mulroney, judging by her terrible stylist photos on Instagram, almost certainly isn’t making enough money to foot the bill for that ridiculous spectacle, so I’ll need to see solid proof that any of them actually paid for it instead of Meghan. The initial line that was put out was that Meghan had paid for the shower; and then Kensington Palace changed their narrative when she got back to the UK and they realised how pissed off everyone was with her blowing half a million on a party. Did a bunch of D-listers really pay through their noses for a member of the royal family to have a knees-up? It’s not looking likely. 

“Is it your concern if her and Harry hold hands in public?”

Actually, yes it is. As her and Prince Harry are supported by the taxpayer and are representatives of the United Kingdom, of which I am a citizen, I get to have my say in their behaviour when they represent my nation. 

When they trot out on one of their jollies to Australia, the Middle East, or wherever else takes their fancy, on a private aircraft we have funded, they are acting as ambassadors for the UK— and if I don’t think it’s appropriate for my ambassadors to cling to each other like two sixteen-year-olds at the cinema, I will bloody well say so. It’s irritating, unprofessional and unnecessary, and if people view it that way, they have the right to express that. 

“Why do you care if she holds on to her bump?”

Please see above — the same answer applies, really. 

If I went to a client meeting heavily pregnant, spending the entirety of the meeting touching or stroking my stomach, I wouldn’t be taken very seriously by those around me. Once again, there is zero need for this kind of behaviour. The Duchess of Cambridge (and millions of other women) made it through three pregnancies without having her to hold her stomach like she was shoplifting a watermelon — Meghan doesn’t need to do it either. Save it for when you’re sat on the sofa at home, after another long, hard day of squandering our money on yet more ugly clothing. 

“She’s Harry’s choice — and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Well yes, correct and correct. She was Harry’s choice and no, there isn’t much any of us can do about it, nor do we intend to. But at the end of the day, Harry and his wife are property of the crown; and if the British public do not feel Harry’s wife is adhering to protocol or the Sussexes are not behaving in an appropriate manner, we exercise the right to voice that.

I can assure you that Prince Harry is fully aware of this; while he may not be the heir to the throne, he is a Prince of the realm from birth, and all decisions he’s made throughout his life have been with the monarchy in mind— I’m sorry to say that his marriage is no different. Ripping up the rule book and thumbing your nose at the very people who fund your lavish lifestyle simply isn’t on. 

And I would trust Harry’s judgement on his choice of wife, but let’s be real here, this is also the same guy who thought it was a good idea to dress up as a Nazi and smoke cannabis in plain view of the paparazzi, so I’m inclined to believe he’s not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed.

“She’s doing so much better in her role than Kate is”

If this is your opinion, I’ve got one word for you: Specsavers. 

I won’t even negotiate on this point, because there is absolutely no way Meghan has ever handled this better than Kate. There is a difference in role in between the two Duchesses, sure; one is a Queen Consort in waiting and the other is, once again, in a supporting role. But while Kate has fought long and hard to portray a certain type of image and tow the line where the crown is concerned, Meghan really hasn’t bothered at all. 

One dresses, acts and looks the part of a Queen and the other rolls out of bed, barely gets dressed and spends the day searching for her next opportunity to spend her father-in-law’s money. When I look at Catherine, I think “royalty”; when I look at Meghan, I think “Kardashian”, and unless some serious changes are made on the Duchess of Sussex’s part, my view on that will not shift. 

“You’re just jealous”

The standard line that high-schoolers throw at each other when one of the cheerleaders gets a new boyfriend and her girlfriends aren’t so sure, so they’re accused of jealousy.  

“You’re just jealous of me Britney, because I got a boyfriend and you didn’t!”

Come on, we’re all adults here— and let me just start off by saying that having an opinion does not equate to being jealous. You may have not liked a dinner a friend prepared for you in the past— does that mean you were jealous of their (lack of) culinary prowess? You may not have liked a haircut your sister got— does that mean you were jealous of the top salon that cut it? Do you see just how ridiculous it sounds?

Not all of us talking within our groups on Twitter are a bunch of jealous hags, sat around a cauldron, devastated that a half-balding ginger prince married someone else and not us (boo hoo). Please. Most on the group are married/have partners and children — it’s a group of people having a chat about a topic and nothing more. Don’t shatter any more brain cells over-thinking it— you won’t have anything left at this rate. 

“Just leave her alone!”

We would, except as I’ve said, she’s public property now, so leaving her alone really isn’t an option; besides, I don’t get the impression she actually wants to be. 

Meghan is a (semi) failed actress who now has far more fame and notoriety than she ever could’ve dreamed of, solely because of who she married; and given her grand entrance into New York last week, she very clearly wants to be seen by everyone.

She could’ve stayed with a friend to minimise press attention, but instead chose the most famous hotel in New York, complete with barriers outside to announce her big arrival. She could’ve flown under the radar and not alerted anyone to her whereabouts, but no, the press had to be there outside the hotel to catch her departing for her baby shower. Who else would’ve told them? Please don’t feel sorry for her— this woman wants to be seen.

Like I’ve said several times, the Cambridges took their kids skiing last week for half term— where did they go? Well, that’s anyone’s guess. Could be the French Alps, could be the Swiss Alps. And you know why we don’t know? Because they didn’t alert the press so they could be papped. That’s right— FIVE people left the UK undetected but one pint-sized woman couldn’t manage it? Yeah— ok. We’ll leave her alone when she wishes to be left alone, but I don’t see that day on the horizon at the minute. 

“You’re a racist bully”

I saved the best for last, because as much as I hate to admit it bothers me as much as it does, this one absolutely boils my blood. 
Firstly, for those who band around this term far too freely, here is a dictionary definition of what the term “racism” actually means: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/racism

If you’re done reading, welcome back.

I’ll start by saying that accusing somebody of being a racist is a VERY serious accusation, and if you’re going to brand someone with this term, you need some substantial evidence to back this claim up. You wouldn’t accuse someone of being a paedophile if they kindly offered to babysit your kids— and why not? Because that’s not the definition of what a paedophile is. So why is this any different?

Am I disputing that there aren’t people out there who do dislike Meghan because of her skin colour? No, I’m not. Of course there are and we know racists exist. But will you find those people in our groups? No— you most certainly won’t. A lot of us are mixed, come from different countries and diverse backgrounds — accusing me of being a racist because I don’t like a dress Meghan wore is laughable.

For most of you who like to shell out this term like parents hand out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween, I actually feel a degree of sympathy for you. It couldn’t be more apparent that you have racial hang-ups of your own that obviously stem from something else, and the best way you could find to project this into the world is by using the marriage of a biracial woman into the British royal family. If you’re one of these people, it’s kind of sad that this is what you’ve resorted to. Surely there are stronger arguments?

“That dress doesn’t fit Meghan properly.”

“You’re a racist!”

“I don’t like her hair that way.”

“You’re a racist!”

“She doesn’t adhere to protocol.”

“You’re a racist!”

Do you not see how ridiculous that sounds? Racism is discriminating against someone because of their skin colour— so what about all of the reasons we don’t find her suitable in spite of that? Or do we just ignore that?What about the African-American ladies reading this who have written hateful things about the Duchess of Cambridge? Do we accuse them of racism? No. Or does racism not work when it’s the other way around? As far as I’m aware, the definition didn’t change. 

The Duchess of Cambridge was called “lazy” and “waity Katie” for years. The Duchess of Cornwall was called a “home wrecker” and told she’d ”never be accepted”. Prince Harry’s ex-girlfriends Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas were torn to shreds by the press for years and told they’d never make good royal wives. And guess what? THEY’RE ALL WHITE. But of course, when they were attacked and nobody came to their defence, it wasn’t known as bullying. It wasn’t known as racism if anyone who wasn’t white said anything about them. It was called “suck it up and deal with it — it’s the life you chose.”

So why can’t we say the same to Meghan, just because she’s biracial? Why is it any different now? Equality and special treatment don’t go hand-in-hand. One negates the other. You can’t have both. 

Calling someone a racist is a loaded term, and a bit like operating a gun when you don’t know how; if you’re not sure how to use it, best to leave it to one side. And that’s all I’m going to say for now.