What Meghan Markle Thinks Is Damaging About The Royal Family
Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their decision to step back as senior members of the royal family earlier this year, the couple has faced continued public scrutiny. Yet while the duo's move to L.A. remains an undeniably popular debate topic, few outlets acknowledge the fact that Harry and Meghan have relinquished their duties in an effort to protect their mental health amid the media's attacks on their family.
Historically, British culture values stoicism, and by tradition, Britons rarely show emotion in public. But as Meghan said in a 2019 interview with ITV host Tom Bradby, when your name is splashed across the tabloids day after day, it's hard to ignore. "I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a 'stiff upper lip' — I really tried, but I think that what that does internally is probably really damaging," Meghan admitted with tears in her eyes (via Vanity Fair). "I have said for a long time to H — that's what I call him — 'It's not enough to just survive something. That's not the point of life. You have got to thrive. You have got to feel happy.'"
With the future of their family on the line, Harry and Meghan made the choice that was best for them and their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
Prince Harry wants to protect Meghan Markle from the same fate as his mother
In her interview for Tom Bradby's documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, Meghan Markle admitted how hurtful the media's claims can be. "I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair. And that's the part that's really hard to reconcile," she said. "If things were fair... If I'd done something wrong, I'd be the first one to go 'Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I would never do that.' But when people are saying things that are just untrue, and they are being told they're untrue but they're allowed to still say them — I don't know anybody in the world who would feel like that's okay."
And that's precisely why Prince Harry chose to do what was best for his family. "I will not be bullied into carrying a game that killed my mum," he told Bradby. Harry's mother, Princess Diana, was killed in a 1997 car accident after being chased by paparazzi. "Look, part of this job and part of any job, like everybody, means putting on a brave face and turning a cheek to a lot of the stuff. But again, for me and for my wife, of course, there's a lot of stuff that hurts — especially when the majority of it is untrue."
With the tragic death of his mother on his heart, Harry wants to ensure his wife and child never suffer the same fate.
Prince Harry knows the impact poor mental health can have firsthand
After the death of his mother, Prince Harry spent decades trying to adhere to the "stiff upper lip" tradition to which Meghan Markle referred. But in a podcast interview with Telegraph columnist Bryony Gordon, the Duke of Sussex broke royal protocol when he revealed this latent grief left him "very close to total breakdown on numerous occasions."
"I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12, and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years, has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life but my work, as well," Harry explained (via Forbes).
"I thought that thinking of her was only going to make me sad and not going to bring her back. So from an emotional side, I was, like, 'Right, don't ever let your emotions be part of anything,'" he added. "And then I started to have a few conversations. And actually all of a sudden, all of this grief that I have never processed started to come to the forefront and I was, like, 'there is actually a lot of stuff here that I need to deal with.'" His personal experiences have made him incredibly empathetic to Meghan's emotions.
Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton want to change how Brits views mental health
Despite said British traditions, Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton launched an organization devoted to mental health awareness throughout the United Kingdom. Known as Heads Together, the initiative aims to tackle stigma and change the conversation on mental health, per the group's website. Together, the young royals wanted to "ensure that people feel comfortable with their everyday mental well being, feel able to support their friends and families through difficult times, and that stigma no longer prevents people getting the help they need."
"Too often, people feel afraid to admit that they are struggling with their mental health," the Duchess of Cambridge said in a statement about the organization's official launch in 2016. "This fear of judgment stops people from getting the help they need, which can destroy families and end lives. Heads Together wants to help everyone feel much more confident with their everyday mental health, and to have the practical tools to support their friends and family."
Fueled by the loss of their mother, Harry and William have flipped British culture on its head in an effort to promote mental health across the country and close to home.