It's the kind of battle OG royals never thought they'd be facing. It's not all kings and queens — sometimes there are dragons, and in our modern era, those dragons come in the form of social media and tabloids. Meghan Markle has been at the center of a huge royal family drama storm recently — all because she and Prince Harry are tired of all the media-based bullying she has to deal with on a daily basis (and rightfully so!). They've already started their legal battle with a few prominent British news (or "news") resources.
One would think it'd be easy to just … be nice? But nope!
From the sorta-true to the most outlandish rumors, the Duchess of Sussex has not been treated kindly by the public. There are those who swear up and down that she's rude to palace staff, or that she doesn't strictly follow traditional royal ways, or they're #TeamKate in rumored royal feud, but at the end of the day, do two wrongs make a right? Is bullying this new mom really worth it? The answer: no. Alternate point: No one can truly know a person based on media.
We applaud Harry and Meghan in their fight to stop the cruel, sensationalist, and even racist rhetoric that the media unfortunately loves to juggle around. To those who criticize Meghan for not being a "standard" royal family member, we offer this: Was Mia from The Princess Diaries a typical royal? No, she wasn't — and that's why we loved her.
At the end of the day, Meghan and Harry are just trying to live their lives and raise baby Archie in peace. Whether royal rumors are true, half-true, or just plain gossip, maybe the best thing we can do for their privacy is … just not care about any of it?
Or at the very least — support them in their cause to get the truth out there.
Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.
Royalty or Celebrity?
An article by the Sun says Meghan needs to "Meg [her] Mind Up" about being a "real royal" or not. Accusations about Meghan supposedly realigning herself closer to Hollywood are unfortunately plentiful.
Law and Order
Some people at the Sun are seriously still giving Meghan a hard time about hiring the crisis management firm that also happened to represent Harvey Weinstein and Michael Jackson. Sunshine Sachs has also represented Leonardo DiCaprio and Natalie Portman, though, so how is this a big deal?
Endangering Children?
Express reported that Meghan's choice of wedding flowers (lily of the valley, specifically) could have "put Princess Charlotte's life at risk." Listen, poisonous plants and flowers are everywhere. If it was really that big of an issue, the royals wouldn't have allowed it to begin with. (They're not even allowed to have garlic on royal visits, FFS.)
Jetsetting
Obviously, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are environmentally conscious — but when they decided to travel in a private jet for Archie's sake, suddenly they were labeled as hypocrites. TBH, they do more for the environment than the average person is able to. No one's perfect.
Not a User
Headlines like "Meghan Markle's exes show how she's used her relationships to get what she wants" obviously aren't cool. (We see you, the Sun.)
All an Act?
Biographer Andrew Morton was a source for clickbait titles when he claimed that Meghan Markle's acting career was a "faliure," and that she was "over the hill" for Hollywood. Yikes and ouch.
Wimbledon Nightmare
Meghan was called a "nightmare" by an official who spoke to the Times. The reason? It's apparently a faux pas to wear jeans to Wimbledon. Also, people were miffed she was rooting for her friend (Serena Williams) and not a Brit. Consider us Wimble-done with this BS.
Expensive Tastes
Allegedly, an insider told Life & Style that Prince Charles felt like "a walking ATM machine" after having to pick up the tab for the Duchess of Sussex's wardrobe. Oof.
Leaked Letter
Lots of people don't know how to feel about Meghan's separation from her dad, and her letter (exposed by her father by the Mail on Sunday) doesn't really help the situation. Hopefully they'll patch things up someday.
Royal Rules
Some neighbors of Meghan and Harry complained about the over-the-top neighborhood rules that residents were issued (one of which is "Don't pet their dogs," which, TBR, is pretty sad). Even though these rules were made by palace officials, the couple is still being faulted because residents were never "told how to behave around the Queen like this."
Breaking Etiquette
It's no secret that Meghan loves her man. According to the Mail on Sunday, sometimes she'll ignore seating arrangements in "high society" events so that she can do some PDA with Harry — which has apparently caused certain friends to stop inviting them to dinners. Is that really so wrong of her, though?
Rude to Staff
Rumors upon rumors have soared about Meghan's alleged treatment of palace staff. A royal insider allegedly stated that Meghan's demanding nature "can be difficult." We can only hope these are false rumors.
Duchess Duel
The feud between Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle will live on in infamy. Whether it was disagreements about how Meghan allegedly treated staff members or just the stark differences in their personalities, this definitely wasn't a great start to Meghan's entry into the royal fam.
Queen Quarrel
The Sun reported Meghan originally wanted a specific, green-emerald tiara for her wedding, but as the headpiece could have possibly been made in Russia, the Queen had to intervene and tell her no. Obviously, people made this out to be way bigger than it was — the Queen loves Meghan and was just trying to watch out for her.
Mom On the Go
Tons of unfair Duchess Meghan criticisms come from social media, of course. Some people literally sit there and accuse her of not being there for her baby because she also happens to have a life. Back off haters! She's got this!
Snubbing Birthdays
Meghan Markle: rude? Some think so — even going so far as to accuse her and Harry of "snubbing" Prince William's birthday because neither she or Harry posted any social media tribute to him. #PeopleBePetty.
Mom Shaming
One Yahoo article couldn't help but bring attention to the online bullies Meghan faces, with many telling her she needs to "learn how to hold her own child," and that she has, "no maternal instincts at all." Uh, how about she's a new mom and a human being so should be cut a little slack?
Narcissist Claims
In relation to all the hubbub about Prince Harry suing British tabloids, people seemed to agree with Piers Morgan's criticisms of Meghan Markle, saying that she "brought the negative press on." One even went so far as to claim Harry's looked "sour" since marrying her. Go outside, trolls. You've lost your internet privileges.
Social Climber?
Piers Morgan is one of Meghan Markle's biggest critics, so naturally, any s–t he talks makes headlines. He even claims this (imaginary) social climbing is "littered with the carcasses" of those she once knew. As Taylor Swift puts it, it looks like someone needs to #CalmDown.
Hypocritical Hypocrites
When Meghan's dad called her out on supposedly cutting him out from her life, he (and other royal followers) were quick to call her a hypocrite — even more so after she shared a Nelson Mandela quote about peace. All wounds take time to heal, people.
