A Royal (Con)flict

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, lived a young girl with lofty dreams of changing the face of the future. A biracial girl born in a society of racial ‘boxes’ knew from an early age that due to the undefined nature of her racial background her life would be anything but a fairy-tale. As an “ethnically ambiguous” individual who identifies as neither Black nor White but both, her experiences became her battlefield and her voice, her weapon. As early as age 11, she demonstrated her desire to effect change by actively posting a letter to a business corporation requesting a more gender-neutral advertisement for a dishwashing liquid. Success reigned as following her letter the company acquiesced to the 11-year old’s request. So, it comes as no surprise that she was also once interested in a career in politics. Ultimately, however, she became an actress, an activist and a role model. Meghan Markle is the living proof that one voice can start a chorus. Whether or not it sings your praises is a story for another time.

One day, big news came to town. The public voice decided to merge with a voice-amplifier or was he a silencer? Time will tell…

Her status elevated from that of a mere public figure to royalty — Her Highness! The beauty met her prince and not just ‘her’ prince but an actual Prince! Prince Harry, with a star in his eyes, was at the centre of a whirlwind romance that crescendoed into a royal wedding. But on the day of the wedding, Meghan gained a bit more than she bargained for — she gained a husband, a title and a centuries-long established diamond encrusted muzzle. Her wedding ring became the noose that allowed the royal institution to put a proverbial knee on her neck. Immediately after the star-studded event, the restrictions of the position began to stifle the once out-spoken actress. Along with having to adhere to an extremely strict dress-code — which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing — she was forbidden from expressing or endorsing any political view. Her speech, behaviour and comportment were now strictly monitored. She was no longer an opinion on a public forum or a warrior for change. In the blink of an eye, an act that was once as natural as breathing became prohibited.

In her controversial interview with famous American talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, Meghan said that while in the palace she felt suffocated. “I couldn’t breathe anymore” — Meghan’s words echoed those of a victim of police brutality, George Floyd, as he repeated pleaded with a police officer, ‘Please! Please! I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe’, while struggling to gasp his last breath. Like Floyd she was being muffled by a vicious eternal force hell-bent on causing harm and irreparable damages. Meghan’s proverbial ‘knee’ wasn’t only the all imposing monarchy but also the media’s thinly veiled references to her race and ethnicity, the uncontested slanders, the lack of protection from the institution of which she was now a member, the justified unfair treatment of herself and her child orchestrated by the royals and the constant pressure of being reminded that she was never supposed to have had the position she held in the first place. But unlike Floyd she was able to live beyond the fleeting moment of suffocation to once again bask in the liberty of freedom of speech. The straitjacket strapped onto her on the day of her wedding had slowly tightened over the years; had she not been resolute, it was only a matter of time before she reaped the same tragic end as Floyd.

Now, let’s talk about the huge elephant in the room. Meghan, who was “almost straight outta Compton” with “exotic DNA” and projected to give birth to a son that was compared to a “chimpanzee” allegedly experienced comparatively similar assaults from the press as did “waity Katie”. Plus, prior to the birth of Archie, the then newest member of the royal family, Meghan found herself in a scenario where the possible shade of her son’s skin-tone was discussed in what was described as an “awkward” conversation. Never mind that there is a lot we as outsiders don’t know and will never know, especially the subtext of that ‘awkward’ conversation. But despite the lack of factual data, flittering about are insurmountable assumptions and conjectures about said conversation and the overall situation — many of which are less than flattering opinions of the actress for having the ‘audacity’ to air her grievances. Apparently simply expressing her feelings of entrapment is just cause for public outrage. She has always been a public figure but apparently upon entering the royal family her status and state-of-being became something beyond human. So, while actresses can be prone to basic human feelings and behaviour, members of the royal family cannot?

Fairy-tales romanticize the princess role — and royalty as such — so much that the average person often fails to notice the sacrifices necessary for the position. Check out Cinderella, despite her misfortunes she spent her life being groomed to be the perfect princess in that she was taught from a young age to simply tolerate tyranny and slander with a calm disposition, dignity and grace. Snow White’s naivete and timidity was her shield against ever having an honest to God opinion about anything — and she had to withstand her oppressive step-mother — again with dignified grace. Princess Aurora in ‘Sleeping Beauty’ slept so long she was bound to be out of touch with reality. Ariel from the little mermaid quite literally gave up her voice in order to have a chance with the prince — and had to contend with the machinations of the evil sea-witch Ursula. Fairy-tales cast princesses as beautiful ornaments who must withstand the trials of malevolent forces out to get them; damsels in distress incapable to defending themselves or surviving on their own, whose sole purpose is to be saved by handsome Princes.

Now, we have a ‘princess’ of colour, a stark deviation from the fabled princess trope. Rather than waiting to be saved, she saved the prince and herself. After years of containment, she resolved to break free. The formerly slumbering princess is now ‘woke’ and willing to fight for the basic right of speech — to let freedom reign from her concave valley between her lips. Meghan has become a modern-day Pocahontas — the intersection between the old world and the new world and the meeting point of two races. She is nothing like the traditional princesses. After years of suffering devastating blows to her character, sensibilities and personhood by malevolent forces, i.e., the media, she used the same platform to fight the vicious battle and victoriously told her side of the story.

It could be said that after leaving the institution, the ex-royals lived happily ever after….WAIT!

But do they really? As outsiders we will never know the truth. We can only assume, speculate and wish them well.