The unraveling of lawsuits, new beginnings, and forging of a new normal
Photo credit: Netflix
The final episode opens with discussions regarding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal security protection being pulled. The immediate question I believe most viewers were asking was: why? I asked the same.
I couldn't help but see the similarities that were forcefully drawn between Princess Diana losing her security detail in the wake of her divorce from then Prince of Wales, Charles, and them (the Duke and Duchess of Sussex) losing their security detail after publicly announcing that they were stepping back from their royal engagements and leaving the UK.
So, I wanted to understand how the royal security protocol worked. From what I was able to gather, not all members of the royal family have a 24-hour security detail. Some very high-profile royals don't get full security details, some are only protected during specific occasions like royal assignments, weddings, or travel engagements carried out in the name of the crown. It was also quite shocking to learn that some royals don't receive any protection whatsoever. Read more about the royal family security on thelist.com
A friend in Tyler Perry?
Prince Harry and Meghan moved to Los Angeles after their location in Canada was supposedly exposed and their security detail pulled. Their friend, Tyler Perry, provided his private jet for them to get out of Canada before the lockdowns. Perry shared with Netflix how he felt compelled to help because he felt sorry for Meghan, and he could relate to family members changing and becoming vicious over money and fame.
After 6 weeks of living at Perry's house in Los Angeles, Meghan and Harry disclosed during the sixth and final episode of the docuseries that the DailyMail pinpointed their location, and they had to find an existing strategy.
The lawsuit and the miscarriage
Meghan uncovers the litigation and lawsuit against the DailyMail. The stress and vicious attack from the many press releases took a drastic toll, which may or may not have contributed to her miscarriage. She writes an opinion piece for the New York Times, sharing her experience with loss and vulnerability.
The Oprah interview
Many have speculated that the Sussexes' final decision to withdraw from their public life as royals was primarily because they wanted to forge their paths and focus on issues that mattered to them. In light of that, the Oprah interview, or lack thereof, can be summed up as the very last act that severed any remaining ties to the royal family.
One part of that interview made waves around the world, and for good reasons. Meghan claimed that conversations were being had regarding how dark the skin of their baby would be. She doesn't explain or give details on why such a conversation came to be had or who was in it.
It was such a huge and damning reveal/speculation that the fact that Oprah didn't ask for corroborating evidence was equally shocking. There was no way to verify such a damaging accusation.
Harry, on the other hand, simply said:
I'm not going to share the conversation
My twelfth take: as to many other things that have been said by Meghan and Harry, their claims of royal family members being racists have been debunked on several occasions. The statement about the skin tone of Meghan and Harry's baby was never part of a conversation but rather a silly albeit harmful comment made by a woman.
My final thoughts
After more than 6 hours of the docuseries, a few more of research, and a couple of Starbucks' green tea and cinnamon swirls, I think it is safe to say that a visible rift has been created in a family, hopefully, one that isn't irreparable. From false accusations of racism to dubious claims of pap harassment, one thing is clear: truth is the only thing that separates us from falsehood.
What I learned was that Meghan wasn't singled out and bullied by the British tabloids, and neither did she receive several hate headlines because of the color of her skin. Some might argue that her being black played in her favor. I saw clips of Princess Catherine being viciously hounded by the press, headlines mocking her for the many years she stayed with Prince Williams without any prospect of them getting engaged. The headlines were countless and ruthless. But it is hard for a lot of people to remember or even believe that there was a time when Catherine received a lot of hateful and classist headlines. The only difference is Catherine is white, and the race card doesn't apply.
What are your thoughts? Did you watch the docuseries in its entirety?
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