Meghan, Duchess of Sussex: villain or vindicated?

Maryama Vohradsky sat down to watch the royal Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah.  

Harry and Meghan stunned the world when they announced that they would be leaving the royal family. Tabloids dubbed the leave as “MEGXIT”, harshly claiming it was Meghan’s fault for the exit. The couple sat with Oprah to reveal their reasons for leaving and why they felt trapped within their roles as royals.

In a 2-hour event that was run by CBS and aired across the globe last night, Meghan said she was a victim of the Palace’s control and the British tabloid press. Meghan stated repeatedly that no one in the family offered support as tabloids repeatedly tagged her as ‘the gold-digger’.

The interview started off with reflections of the couples Royal Wedding, which Meghan downplayed: as "this wasn't 'our' day, this was the day that was planned for the world,".

Meghan and Harry revealed that as a result, they had actually already been married three days before the big day in the privacy of their backyard. They had wanted the union to be between the two of them - without the prying eyes of the press.

Considering the following explosion of media obsession with their marriage, Oprah asked Meghan what she thought it was going to be like living as a royal family member. Meghan said, "[she] didn't do any research because everything [she] needed to know [Harry] was already sharing with [her]". 

Meghan continued to say, "I didn't fully understand what the job was" or what it meant to be a working royal.

The British tabloids changed how Meghan has been portrayed across the years, from the nation's heroine to its villain. Tabloids released countless twisted stories about her, from reporting that she made Kate Middleton cry, being called out for holding her baby bump, as well as copping criticism for eating a piece of avocado.

Meghan expressed concern over the racist nature of the media attention, arguing that her African-American heritage had been an underlying reason for her unfair treatment. She told Oprah that while she advocated for women to use their voice to be heard her own voice was being silenced.

The couple explained they knew they had a job to do, but they had not expected their calls for help to be ignored or that they would be expected to simply suck it up. A pivotal moment in the couple’s lives was when Meghan expressed that she was experiencing suicidal thoughts and the family did not provide medical support or solutions.

She said that she repeatedly sought medical help for her declining mental state but was refused because she “wasn’t a paid member of the institution”.

The couple reiterated the sentiment that while they may have been smiling on camera, “You have no idea what's going on behind closed doors.”

They told Oprah that the Palace was prepared to lie to protect other family members but would not tell the truth to protect Harry and herself. When the couple announced they would be leaving their roles as senior members, the Palace decided to remove their titles altogether, including their security and allowances. Harry told Oprah that he never thought the Palace would remove his privileges because he was brought up in this position and inherited the risk.

The biggest shock was when Meghan claimed that, "there were conversations regarding how dark Archies skin maybe when he's born". 

Meghan went on to tell Oprah that it wasn't their right to change Archie’s title, but in fact it was his birthright to be a prince and his decision as to whether he would keep the title. In the end, Meghan and Harry were concerned for his safety. The royal family has yet to respond to these accusations, but from what Meghan revealed, conversations regarding Archie’s title were also raised by a senior member. 

Halfway in we were surprised with the gender announcement - the couple are expecting a baby girl in the Summer. They said that moving to their home in the US was the best decision they’ve made as family. Yet there was a feeling of remorse that perhaps if the family had been willing to offer them the support they needed, they never would have left the family.