I enjoyed attending the table talk discussion about Meghan and Harry. We had a fun conversation, talking about the recent interview of Meghan and Harry by Oprah. Many new perspectives that I had not considered before were brought up, such as the impact of the interview on the royal family, and whether Meghan and Harry had talked about this at all with the family beforehand. It was also interesting to learn more about British Royal life and its complex history. Often, the Royal family is seen as an organization, however, it is important to remember that its members are people just like everyone else. Do they have a responsibility to uphold moral standards and portray themselves to the public? How much privacy do they have and should they have? These are interesting questions that we discussed, and it really shined a new light on the complications of being an individual in the spotlight.

For several days before this Rose Scholars event, I had come across several clips from the Oprah interview involving Prince Harry and Meghan Markle all over social media. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had come clean to the public about their departure from the British royal family as well as their treatment over the last two years. I had not watched the actual interview before the event so it consisted mostly of me listening to other people’s perspectives about it. We talked about the importance of this for the American public as well as how it could impact the British public. One of the most important points of conversation, in my opinion, was Meghan Markle’s treatment throughout her presence in the royal family. I personally believe that most of her mistreatment stemmed from blatant racism and sexism, especially when it came to comparing her to Kate Middleton. This also relates to a discussion we had about the role of journalism and the media in situations like these and how uninformed reports can tarnish someone’s reputation. After this event, I watched the actual interview and was able to thoroughly enjoy it after our thoughtful discussions.

After watching several documentaries and reading articles about Princess Diana, I’ve been very invested in learning about the about the Royal Family. Given the drama surrounding Harry and Meghan’s drama; I noticed several parallels between Meghan’s and Diana’s role in the Royal Family. Both Meghan and Diana faced intense media scrutiny; both Meghan and Diana sought help but were denied it by the powers that control the Royal Family. Despite these similarities, their stories both differ in that the source of Meghan’s media scrutiny has racial undertones. It amuses me how to this day, people still have an issue seeing people of color in power. One thing we discussed which I found most interesting was Harry’s behavior toward the entire situation. I commend Harry for standing by and supporting his wife. It takes a lot of strength especially given the power and influence the Royal Family has. Although we won’t know for sure, I feel that Diana would have supported Harry’s and Meghan’s decision to separate themselves from the Royals because she was known for straying away from the norm. Whether the Oprah interview with Harry and Meghan will serve as a catalyst for change, I highly doubt. The Royal Family is embedded in centuries of tradition and customs, with people in power who are resistant to changing these customs. The only way I see change in the institution occurring is if there is a complete overhaul of the Royal Family structure, but again I highly doubt that will happen.

When attending the “Let’s talk about Megan and Harry” Table Talk, I really appreciated the ability to hear the other Rose Scholars’ opinions and thoughts about the current happenings of the Royal Family and particularly what was said in the Oprah interview. I definitely agreed with a lot of what my colleagues said, and I also think it must have taken a great deal of courage for Meghan and Harry to be so transparent on international television. 

My only question is what happens now? The royal family is no stranger to scandal and heartache in the recent past. Princess Diana and Prince Charles certainly had publicly visible struggles and drama, and King Edward VIII even stepped down to marry an American divorcee. However, the continuity between all these instances is that the Royal family stayed steadfast in their beliefs and customs. Will anything change regarding the Meghan and Harry situation compared to these past instances of “breaking customs” or “causing drama”?

I attended the Table Talk about Meghan and Harry, and all of the controversy going on with the Royal Family recently. One of the biggest takeaways that I had during this conversation was how the media has such power over the family as well as how people perceive what’s going on. One of the discussions was about how odd it was that the royal family has to still “kiss up” to the media to stay in good standing all the time. Since they’re royal it would be logical that the media is somewhat obedient and respectful to royals. However, it’s my personal opinion that the royal family doesn’t really have much influence over the country besides their image so it makes sense that they need to keep their image up all the time. Once the interview with Oprah came out, it became so apparent that the media was extremely one sided in how they consistently kept Meghan in a negative light and people with no other side of the story believed the media. 

Another thing that we talked about was how Harry is split between two sides: his family and his family. Harry had to watch his mother suffer through something similar to Meghan and this is definitely his way of being more proactive and protective when he couldn’t back then. I would hope that if I were ever in a similar situation where my race was under scrutiny from my partner’s family that my partner would be as supportive as Harry has been publicly for Meghan.