Prince Harry‘s final day as an official member of the royal family is March 31, but he and Meghan Markle have been planning their exit from the royal family for a while now. The couple ultimately made the decision to leave the family after Meghan was regularly attacked in British press.
Attacks from the press started while the two were still just engaged, and they continued through Meghan’s wedding and into the couple’s marriage. Harry knew something had to change.
Although he did his best to defend his wife against attacks from the press. The couple’s decision to leave the U.K. was ultimately shaped in large part by Meghan‘s treatment in the press, according to one source that spoke with Us Weekly.
“When it became clear Meghan was never going to get a fair shake, Harry snapped,” the source said. “He’s adamant that it was his call to move to Canada.” Throughout their time as royals, Harry and Meghan were adamant about the importance of privacy for them both.
According to the source, Harry didn’t think his wife deserved all of the negative press attention that she had received, and was determined to do anything he could to get her out of it.
In the past, Harry had even released a statement expressing concern for his wife’s safety, which he believed had been compromised by the overwhelmingly negative coverage she received. “My deepest fear is history repeating itself,” Harry said in October, referencing his own mother’s strained relationship with the press.
“I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces,” Harry continued.
Harry was right to point out the way the media coverage of Meghan Markle and Princess Diana was similar. It’s also clear that Harry has plenty of his own trauma to work through as a result of his mother’s death.
Although there are many similarities between the way Meghan was treated and the way Diana was treated, one of the main differences is the role race played in coverage of Markle.
A number of outlets expressed belief that racism had played a huge part in the difference in tone between coverage of Markle and coverage of someone like Kate Middleton. While Markle was often slammed for even small actions, Middleton would often be praised in the press for taking very similar steps.
