Meghan Markle and Mass Hysteria

Back in December, I wrote a post about things I don’t comprehend that included the hatred the English have for Meghan Markle. For those of us here in America, it passes all understanding. Sure, when it comes to celebrities, we have our likes and dislikes, our heroes and villains, our problems and good examples. It makes for good gossip fodder.

But nothing comes even close to how some Brits feel about Meghan Markle. I don’t think hatred is too strong a word. The New York Times quotes a BBC report that “in one week in March 2021, there were more than 25,000 stories about her.” That even exceeds hatred; it’s deranged obsession.

Meghan Markle, tabloid papers, headlinesThe British public eats up (1) the journalistic “thrashing” the tabloid press gives the Duchess of Sussex while (2) ignoring what the New York Times calls the “extreme deference” it displays toward Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales. But why?

Viewing all this hooraw from where I live on the other side of the pond, I can think of three reasons.

1. She’s American

I suppose that if we still had royalty in America, we would prefer them to be American—whatever that means. As a nation of immigrants, we do not have a genetic identity. We define Americans by citizenship, not by race.

One recent president had not one but two of his three wives who were not native-bon Americans. Many of our celebrities come from other countries. Some of our national heroes have been played on screen and on stage by non-Americans or immigrants. No one boycotts the theater in protest.

Doing England a Favor

One other American married into British royalty: Wallis Warfield Simpson. The thrice-divorced Mrs. Simpson had such a hold on King Edward VIII, he abdicated his throne rather than live without her. Now, we might hold this up as an example of the complete havoc wreaked upon the British throne by a crass American. Really, however, she did the royal family—and England itself—a huge favor.

Wallis Warfield Simpson, King Edward VIII, American, NaziBoth the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, as they were later called, were friends of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party. They expressed sympathy for Hitler and visited Germany as his guests. During the trip, the King returned Nazi salutes with his own. He undermined the British war effort publicly and was connected to a plot that would have deposed King George VI and returned the Duke to the throne as a Nazi puppet. Just imagine what would have happened to England in WWII, and afterward, had these two occupied Buckingham Palace.

2. She’s an Actress

Meghan Markle, Actress, Suits, Rachel Zane, TVFor centuries, male European nobility have turned to female actresses, opera singers, dancers, and other performers for their mistresses. This trend might even be called a tradition, one that grew to be accepted by the people. Had Prince Harry kept Ms. Markle in a secret love nest while marrying a cream-and-roses young woman of proper breeding, the tabloids might have taken a different approach.

Sure, they would have written lavishly about her and the scandal. The tabloids would have ginned up public emotion against her as a homewrecker and in favor of the wronged wife, but I don’t think the hatred would have been quite so intense. After all, she wouldn’t have been trespassing on royal territory by actually marrying into it and having the bold-faced audacity to take on a royal title.

3. She Overshadows Queen Camilla

Okay, I concede a lack of objectivity regarding this point. Meghan Markle is young and beautiful while Queen Camilla is, well, not. The current queen of England was never a beauty, as we know from the nickname Princess Diana gave her.

Camilla had to wait a long, long time for her final triumph and then along came a photogenic and successful celebrity to steal the spotlight. That must have stung. Some sources claim that Camilla made friendly advances toward Meghan but was rebuffed. Others say Meghan swore not to overshadow the future queen’s campaign against domestic violence but but broke her promise. When it comes to gossip about the royals, however, finding a nugget of truth can be difficult. One cannot trust anything the tabloids write, and I am not willing to spend a lot of time researching the issue.

4. She’s Bi-Racial

Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of England, Black, Bi-racial 
Here we come to the core of the problem. And not for the first time. Princess Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, who married King George III, might well have been England’s first bi-racial royal. The Washington Post reports that:

“Historian Mario De Valdes y Cocom argues that Charlotte was directly descended from a black branch of the Portuguese royal family: Alfonso III and his concubine, Ouruana, a black Moor.”

Mr. Valdez started a “systemic genealogical search” that traced Queen Charlotte’s ancestry back to “the mixed-race branch of the Portuguese royal family.” That inconvenient fact, of course, lies comfortably in the past while Ms. Markle lives very much in the present. The tabloid press thus has a real motive for smearing her and her children.

The Racist Press

According to The Guardian, the British press rejects any notion that they are racist, all the while publicly displaying their racism.

Now, one might easily accuse the British press of racism, particularly the tabloids, but the reality is that these publications get their credibility—and their money—from the British public. In his interview with Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry said, “The U.K. is not bigoted. The U.K. press is bigoted, specifically the tabloids.”

Yet, if the public did not want to read 25,000 racist stories about Meghan Markle in one week, they wouldn’t buy the papers. And the papers would lose money. Profits would drop. And they would change their editorial direction accordingly. Follow the money.

Why My Interest?

So why do I write about this—or even think about it—when it has nothing to do with me? Well, human psychology fascinates me. Watching a sizable portion of the British public and almost all of the British press, go bonkers over someone they have never met, will likely never meet, and who will never touch their lives in any way constitutes mass hysteria. Outrageous fictional stories and yellow journalism pour fuel on the fire.

Also, it’s a diversion from the acrimony and divisiveness that characterize the American press these days.

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, house, Santa Barbara, California, The ChateauI applaud the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for getting out of Dodge and going to live in a place where they are merely celebrities instead of living, breathing offenses to British sensibilities. They have a chance to build a somewhat normal life, or at least as normal as a rich and famous couple can manage.

If you want to take power away from your enemies, ignore them and go where they can’t touch you. The tabloid press and the paparazzi might still stalk them but at the least American crowds don’t draw blood.

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About Aline Kaplan

Aline Kaplan is a published author, a blogger, and a tour guide in Boston. She formerly had a career as a high-tech marketing and communications director. Aline writes and edits The Next Phase Blog, a social commentary blog that appears multiple times a week at aknextphase.com. She has published over 1,000 posts on a variety of subjects, from Boston history to science fiction movies, astronomical events to art museums. Under the name Aline Boucher Kaplan, she has had two science fiction novels (Khyren and World Spirits) published by Baen Books. Her short stories have appeared in anthologies published in the United States, Ireland, and Australia. She is a graduate of Northeastern University in Boston and lives in Hudson, MA.

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