British tabloids’ harassment of new royals: Where do we draw the line?

For years, we have seen the late Princess Diana endure constant harassment from the British press; are we seeing a repeat of events?

With Prince Andrew facing numerous allegations of sexual harassment and Prime Minister Boris Johnson echoing the need for Brexit, the British press has somehow chosen something else to gossip about: American actress turned Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle. As one of the highest profile women in pop culture today and one of the first colored royals in Britain’s history, Markle has quite a few enemies in the mass media.

It initially seemed that Markle was gaining approval not only from the Queen, but from the public as well—unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. In a recent interview with ITV Documentary, Meghan stated that she was “warned” that the British media would turn against her; and that was exactly what happened. Since then, it has been saddening to see how much power the media has held in shaping and polarizing the public’s views on Markle’s marriage with Prince Harry. The tabloids have been attacking the couple with many outrageous claims such as family feuds, strained relationships, and child neglect. The press has even leaked private letters between Markle and her family. In an editorial submitted by Kenan Malik from The Guardian, he directly attacked “the duchess’s £60,000 outfits” and how they “took a private jet to fly to the south of France to holiday in Elton John’s villa.” How is the press justified to criticize the family so heavily? How do the tabloids defend their outrageous lack of journalism ethics in news reporting?

This hasn’t been the first time the British press has bombarded a new royal with this level of scrutiny. When the late Princess Diana was married to Prince Charles, she was the subject of some of the most ruthless media coverage to this day. She was targeted for sending her son, Prince William, to Eton college at age 13, and criticized for incompetent parenting. There have been reports where Diana would tip off the press for her next pit stop, but she has always denied those claims. Tina Brown, an editor for Vanity Fair, said that Diana “did want some privacy, but at the same time she couldn’t resist giving them the images they wanted.” However, despite all these allegations, we shouldn’t neglect the fact that Diana was literally chased to death by paparazzi in a car chase in Paris, in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel.

The only thing that is different between the cases of Duchess Markle and Princess Diana is race. The British press has never been shy about critiquing Markle, but many speculate that it’s about more than just her position of power. British actress Jameela Jamil tweeted, “Dear England and English press, just say you hate her because she’s black, and him for marrying a black woman and be done with it. Your bullying is so embarrassing and obvious. You’ve all lost your marbles.”

Markle knew what she was signing up for, but she didn’t anticipate the severity this would have on her public and not-so-private life. She can’t even make a decision about where to celebrate Christmas this year without offending the British press. The fact is, Markle is facing a wave of hatred that is motivated not only by her position, but also because of her race.

Featured Image — The Duke and Duchess of Sussex at their first public appearance during the Invictus Games of November 2017 Courtesy of E Online

by Samuela Ma’u