Her wrongs are many and varied, from being fame-hungry, greedy, manipulative, entitled, spoiled, a hypocrite.
The culmination of her misdeeds came in the sensational decision announced last week that Markle and her husband, the Duke of Sussex, would be quitting as ‘senior’ members of the Royal family and splitting their time between north America and the UK.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7EaGS_Jpb9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
If an alien was dropped on planet earth in the last few days they could be forgiven for struggling to comprehend both the volume and intensity of the hatred and scrutiny directed at the American actress turned Duchess of Sussex.
Imagine trying to grasp that a woman deciding to forge an independent life with her husband was more scandalous than the escalating tensions between Iran and the United States?
Or that the Queen’s son, Prince Andrew, being accused of having sex with a 17-year old girl and being a close associate of a convicted sex offender was less of a threat to the British Monarchy than a married couple seeking to escape a relentless smear campaign and make a life of their own?
https://twitter.com/matthaig1/status/1215587082619494400?s=20
Last year 60 Minutes broadcast a program ‘investigating’ how Megan Markle ‘lost her sparkle’ just weeks after Jeffery Epstein was found dead in a Manhattan jail when Prince Andrew’s controversial relationship with him was firmly in the spotlight.
If against that backdrop Markle ‘losing her sparkle’ was still determined as the paramount story is it any wonder she might have decided she simply could not win?
Here's another attacking her child… just in case you needed anymore of this pic.twitter.com/2qwnUhui7k
— Myra (@SussexPrincess) January 11, 2020
It seems there is very little sympathy for a trapped princess but both Meghan and Prince Harry have been open, in wholly unprecedented fashion, about the toll the constant scrutiny and vitriol has exacted from them both.
Many argue it is the price they have to pay but they have evidently determined that it isn’t. That it is worth pursuing an alternative. Sadly for them, and the entire Royal family, this isn’t straightforward. There is no obvious blueprint for a split and the details have to be thrashed out publicly. It is more fuel to the fire they are trying to escape.
The pile-on Megan Markle is experiencing is ugly, toxic, disproportionate and reminiscent of the rubbish Diana tolerated. Why can't the sixth in line protect his wife & explore a different way to be a royal? Why do we care?
My take on #Mexit for @smh:https://t.co/VpE0w2smxh
— 💥Dr💥 Julia Baird (@bairdjulia) January 11, 2020
Blaming Meghan for this mess, for leading Harry astray, manipulating him, isolating him from his friends and family, breaking up the Firm is the popular trope. Why not find a woman at the centre of the upset and lay the blame firmly at her feet? It’s so familiar.
The fact she is a woman of colour makes it even easier.
Why contemplate that perhaps Harry himself has desperately wanted to exit royal life and start afresh when we can construe him as an entirely powerless pawn being controlled by Meghan?
As @piersmorgan continues his attacks on #MeghanMarkle, please note that he has been one of her biggest abusers. And this is only a part of what he has inflicted on her. This is not scrutiny, this is abuse and he needs to be held accountable. #DishonestUKPress pic.twitter.com/x8kxIVTzCZ
— Dr. Zanye (@bookedbusy) January 9, 2020
The reality of Megxit, as it’s been dubbed, is there is a lot that is unknown and most of what is known broadly is sad. They have been pilloried in the press for their every move and there is no obvious escape. It seems clear that family relations at best, are strained, and at worst, irreconcilable.
There isn’t a family the world over that doesn’t have its complexities. For the Royal family there isn’t scope for any of the discretion or time that might allow rifts in other families to resolve or heal.
Traditionalists and monarchists are aghast at the decision reached by Harry and Meghan to branch out. But it is interesting to consider what is lost by these two doing things differently. Or, perhaps, the better question to consider is what exactly is gained by forcing a young couple to remain entrenched in a situation that isn’t working for them?
It’s hard to find an answer that justifies Meghan Markle being universally derided and loathed.