Though Singapore has no royal family, some of us might fantasize about being a prince or princess.
Having untold riches and dressing up in glam clothes every day might seem great, but outsiders would never know the problems faced by these people.
At least not until 2 former members of the world’s most famous royal family told celebrated host Oprah Winfrey their struggles behind the curtain.
For Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, life was difficult because they had a lack of support from the Crown on various issues, including her mental health and their baby’s skin colour.
In the explosive 2-hour interview aired on America’s CBS News on Monday (8 Mar), Harry and Meghan – also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – made many stunning revelations on their life in the palace.
As many may know, they decided to retire from their duties as members of UK’s royal family in 2020.
For the 1st time, we hear them telling us the reasons themselves.
Life as a member of the royal family can be constricting, and they just can’t do many things that ordinary people can do.
Perhaps for this reason, Meghan, who was a Hollywood actress would’ve had trouble adapting.
In fact, this caused such a toll on her mental health that she had thoughts of suicide, according to CBS News.
They frightened her, she said, adding,
I just didn’t want to be alive any more.
Though Harry tried to assuage her fears, she also asked the Palace for help.
However, she said it was denied.
According to her, the response was,
…there’s nothing we can do to protect you because you’re not a paid employee of the institution.
In what probably contributed to her worsening mental health, Meghan felt that had been “silenced” by the Palace since she started dating Harry.
At first, she thought she was being protected by the royal institution, but when they got married and things “worsened”, she realised they “weren’t willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband”.
However, she made a distinction between the royal family themselves, and the people who run the Crown, saying,
There’s the family, and then there’s the people that are running the institution, those are two separate things.
The couple had their 1st child Archie in May 2019, and it was a joyous event.
However, his parents told Oprah that before the baby was born, things weren’t so joyous as some people had concerns over how dark his skin would be.
Meghan is biracial, and Archie is mixed.
While Meghan declined to name the people whom expressed concern, that was obviously something quite insensitive to say.
Upon prompting, Harry described some of the questions as,
What will the kids look like?
Also, Meghan claimed that the Palace had refused to confer the title of Prince on Archie, despite him being the son of a Prince. Thus, he also won’t be given security.
In fact, she said her son won’t have a title at all, adding,
They didn’t want him to be a prince . . . which would be different from protocol.
The reason for this is uncertain.
Worse still, Meghan said none of the royal family tried to help reserve the decision about Archie’s lack of security.
Speaking of children, the couple also announced that their next child would be a girl. They had previously revealed Meghan’s pregnancy in Feb.
For many, the most difficult part about marriage is getting along with your in-laws.
And so it proved for Meghan, as she experienced conflict with her sister-in-law Catherine — the wife of Harry’s brother, Prince William.
According to Meghan, she was reduced to tears when the pair had a disagreement during her wedding over “flower girl dresses”.
Catherine was upset about it, and Meghan said,
It really hurt my feelings.
Though Catherine apologised, and brought her flowers, the British newspapers reported the reverse — that Meghan had made her sister-in-law cry instead.
Asked about how his mother, the late and legendary Princess Diana, would react to the current situation, Harry said she would be angry and sad.
After all, in many interviews, Diana had also spoken out against the lack of support from the Palace, which caused her mental distress.
And that’s why Harry was afraid his wife would suffer the same fate as Diana – who tragically passed away in 1997 after leaving the royal family – saying,
I can’t begin to imagine what it must’ve been like for (my mother) going through this process by herself all those years ago.
Ultimately, Harry said that all Diana would want would be for him and his wife to be happy.
As for his father, Harry said the relationship was strained as they didn’t speak for awhile.
That’s because Prince Charles stopping taking his calls.
Although the father and son are now on speaking terms again, Harry felt “really let down” by his father.
However, he also described his father as “trapped within the system” like he was.
That also goes for his brother, Prince William.
Harry might have escaped, but it’s caused him to be cut off financially by the royal family since 2020, he said.
The only money he has was left to him by his mother, Princess Diana, as well as money paid to him for creating content for companies like Netflix.
There’s one member of the royal family that the couple have good words for, though – Queen Elizabeth II.
Meghan said the Queen has always been “wonderful’ to her, adding,
I just really loved being in her company … she’s always been warm and inviting and really welcoming.
Once, they took a train together and the monarch even shared a blanket with her, and gave her pearl earrings and a necklace.
On Harry’s part, he’s always had a good relationship with his grandmother, and has a lot of respect for her.
Now that Harry and Meghan have told all, we’re not sure what the reaction from his family members and the Palace will be.
What’s certain is that the couple won’t be returning to royal duties forever, according to a statement from the Palace.
Whatever has happened, they’re first and foremost a family, so we hope they will remember the love they have, and find it within them to forgive.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at hello@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Facebook.
Prices have partly risen thanks to Singaporeans crossing the border, at least one resident said.
It surpasses the previous record of S$1.36 million set by another flat in the same…
The deadline for compliance is 19 Jan 2025.
Forest City is worth approximately S$136 billion.
The restaurant has since contacted the diner to apologise and has handled the refund process…
Celebrating Everton's stunning 2-0 Premier League victory over Liverpool.