Black community weighs in on Markle debacle

By Nicole G.Bennett

Meghan and Harry with the baby

Royal family watchers are expressing their distaste with the media frenzy around Prince Harry and his wife, Megan Markle. The couple recently announced they would be relinquishing their royal duties, in part due to unfair depictions of Markle in the British media and tabloids. 

Several comparisons have been drawn between articles published on Prince William’s wife Kate Middleton, and those written on Markle. The articles on Markle were markedly negative and critical of the American-born actress, in some cases for behaviour, which was considered praise-worthy when Kate Middleton, Prince William’s wife, did them. Prince Harry has been openly vocal in his criticism of the media attacks, and his sentiments are shared by members of the Black community around the world.

Nompumelelo (Mungi) Ngomane

Caribbean Camera asked a cross-section of persons to weigh in on the issue:

Antonia H: She is black. They are racist, and Harry lost his mother to bigotry and isn’t about to lose his wife to the same crappy set of humans.

Dalton Bennett: It shows the inherent racism that still exists in the British media. I think the monarchy is just a glorified institution being paid millions of dollars for showing up. They have no power to influence or change policy to help people, so what are they good for? I think Harry is doing the right thing.

Annonymous: Everybody should leave these two people alone to get on with their lives. The U.K and American press have said nothing but gibberish in the comments. If they believe people were not aware of their snide and nasty underlying racist comments, then they had better wake up.

Tessa:  If Harry wants to pay his way through life and not rely on the public money, that’s one less cost for the British public.

Stacey Samuel: Harry is probably more affected by his mother’s death than we realise, and it’s like he’s reliving that trauma. So he sees how the pressure is affecting his wife, and I’m glad he’s making the decision to save his marriage. Those people have embedded hate and bias so they will never accept her as a Black woman in the royal family. He’s doing what he needs to do to protect his family. So let them come to Canada, we not going to bother them. We will welcome them and respect their privacy.