On Thursday, the entire world was abuzz amidst the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.
For many Brits, this is a time of mourning. But the world’s relationship with this anachronistic monarchy is complicated.
On a micro level, Duchess Meghan Markle has also experienced a complicated relationship with her in-laws.
Despite previous reports, Meghan did not travel with Harry to Balmoral. Why?
On Thursday morning, the reports said that Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan were en route to Balmoral.
At the time, the official word was that the Queen was “under medical supervision.”
Common sense and insider whispers at the time said that she had already passed, but that they were waiting to announce it.
But Meghan did not end up making the journey with her husband.
BBC’s royal correspondent, a job as conceptually goofy as it sounds, Nicholas Witchell has a theory.
Witchell suggested this week that Meghan may have feared not being “warmly welcomed” by certain in-laws.
This is not to say that Meghan has just been chilling out at home laughing along with Twitter’s celebratory memes.
It is believed that she spent the night in London.
She simply did not travel to Scotland with Harry. This, it seems, was a late “change of plan.”
“She might not be terribly warmly welcomed, to be perfectly candid about it,” Witchell speculated.
Certainly, that narrative fits with the virulent racism that some hardcore fans of the monarchy have thrown at her.
Additionally, British tabloids have spent years painting Meghan as an antagonistic specter for the unforgivable wrongdoing of marrying Harry.
That said … Meghan absolutely experienced a great deal of hostility from her in-laws.
From questions about Archie’s skin tone to other racist microaggressions, the royal family should have been more welcoming.
The largest issue was always that the family bent over backwards to protect Kate, but did not do the same for Meghan.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were nothing short of inspirational when they stepped away from The Firm.
In early 2020, they began their move — traveling to Canada and then to the United States.
Despite the media firestorm that has haunted them, the two have made a new life for themselves.
Harry remains part of the royal family. His grandmother was the late queen. His father is the new king.
However, he is no longer an active participant in the family’s brand. He is no longer acting as a mascot.
Like Rob Kardashian, except that Harry seems like a deliberately good person. Also, the Kardashians don’t siphon tens of millions of public money every year like a bloated tick latched onto the backs of the people.