The Teeming Mass: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex: A Victim of the British Tabloid Scene

Love or loathe them, the Royal Family continue to be a source of interest in the U.K. and beyond. An estimated 300 million or more tuned in to watch Prince William and Kate Middleton wed in 2011, and an even higher 1.9 billion watched former American actress Meghan Markle marry Prince Harry in 2018. The British tabloids, including but not limited to The Sun and the Daily Express, have a particular interest in reporting in the royal family. Meghan Markle, the first mixed-race person to marry into the family, has found herself the target of continued abuse and criticism and abuse since her relationship with Prince Harry was first publicised in 2016.

The media has a massive influence on how we, the public, perceive these individuals, by representing Meghan Markle negatively, they are able to influence public attitudes towards her. Meghan and her sister-in-law Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, are often pitted against each other by the tabloids through inaccurate, one-dimensional, largely sexist stereotypes. At times, the same media outlet has chosen to criticise Meghan for actions and choices Kate, Duchess of Cambridge was earlier praised for. From eating avocados to flower choices for their respective weddings, there is very little the tabloids fail to find fault in when it comes to Meghan Markle. These readily available comparisons alongside the general negative representation the Duchess of Sussex faces expose the quieter racism favoured in the U.K., not only is Meghan Markle criticised as a woman, she is criticised as a mixed-race woman. People seem to believe that now Meghan Markle has married into the family, they have an inalienable right to criticise her online. Alongside individual comments, several tags appear to be used when referring to her, including #MeghanMarkleTheCharlatanDuchess #DuchessofDeception and #Megxit a Brexit-related pun coined around January 2020, when the U.K. left the E.U. and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they would be stepping away from the public light, in part due to the abuse the Duchess has faced from the British press. When the face of the new, diverse, modern royal family has been attacked in this way, is it any wonder Meghan and Prince Harry have chosen to distance themselves from the country?

The toxic treatment of the Duchess has clearly sexist and racist links, but unfortunately, she is not the only member of the royal family who has faced the negative public light of the British tabloids. Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, has weathered the comments of the tabloids since 2003, when rumours of her relationship with Prince William began to circulate during their time at the University of St Andrews. She has been labelled as “lazy”, “out of touch” and as a “social climber” in her time in the spotlight, despite her charity work and advocation of mental health awareness, reflecting the unrealistic standards to which these public figures are held. The internet age may have added to the pressure faced by those marrying into the royal family, but these routine attacks existed long before the 21st Century. Princess Diana, an individual with a continued legacy today, was increasingly hounded by the tabloids after her separation and subsequent divorce in the 1990s and in the lead-up to her death. While Meghan, Duchess of Sussex is not alone in the sexism she faces, the comments she faces have an added layer of racism no other member of the royal family experiences, making her departure from the U.K. largely understandable. The struggles of Meghan Markle suggest that racism is thriving here, despite the insistence of many online that the U.K. is nowhere near as racist as America.

The way Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Diana have been represented by the British tabloids is unacceptable. The constant scrutiny experienced by each woman is far too intense, completely unnecessary and deeply harmful. However, this does not mean that public figures should not be held accountable, but there is a line between holding a public figure accountable and using an online platform to belittle and bully them, a line often crossed by the British public and the tabloids. If we wish to change how the tabloids represent women like Meghan and Kate, we must first look within our country and challenge the structures which allow casual sexist and racist comments to be made and given platforms.