And so our Worst Royals series moves onto History’s Greatest Monster, aka Meghan Markle. Or, at least, that’s what the British tabloids want you to think. From the moment she set foot in the United Kingdom, the knives were being sharpened for this American actress with designs on Prince Harry. But is there any fuel to this fire?
So let’s put Meghan in the hot seat, peruse her worst moments, and see where she stacks up against the rest of the British Royal Family. We’ve already covered King Charles, Prince William, and Prince Harry in this series, so it’s time to decide whether or not Meghan’s many haters have a point.
1. Ditched her rescue dog
In 2012 Meghan adopted a rescue dog at the encouragement of Ellen Degeneres, naming it Bogart. In a 2013 interview, she described the then 9-month-old labrador-shepherd as “adorable”. Bogart must have made a good impression because she later adopted three more rescue dogs: Pula, Guy, and Mia.
Sadly Meghan’s ascent to royalty clashed with owning Bogart. The United Kingdom has strict laws on pets moving to the country from overseas and Bogart didn’t make the cut due to his “aggressive” behavior towards Harry. As such, the poor dog was handed off to her neighbors in Canada where, as far as we know, he remains to this day.
Abandoning a pet for an overseas move isn’t particularly unusual, but we feel sorry for poor old Bogart, especially as post-Megxit she doesn’t appear to have collected him.
Wrongdoing rating: 3/10
2. Didn’t wear pantyhose at official engagements
Stop the presses! Soon after Meghan began making official appearances alongside Harry snooty observers noted that she was wearing dresses or skirts with bare legs. Royal experts promptly went berserk.
This breach of dress protocol was so serious the Queen herself got involved. Royal expert Kelly Lynch said that the Queen was “pretty progressive” but mandatory pantyhose “is ladylike, proper, and appropriate, and it’s the one rule she won’t budge on, regardless of temperature.” Meghan was given a stern talking-to and began wearing hose. And, perhaps inevitably, the British tabloids declared she was wearing the wrong shade “for her skin tone“. Mmm. Weird thing to say.
Meghan also caused much Royal distress by wearing a cross-body bag, dressing in too much black, dressing too colorfully, and having too low necklines. Honestly who cares? It’s not like she’s turning up to open hospitals in a hot pink latex dress and stripper heels. Don’t these people have more important things to obsess over?
Wrongdoing rating: 0/10
3. Announced her pregnancy at Princess Eugenie’s wedding
Upstaging someone else’s wedding is a huge social faux pas, even if you’re a Princess. Simply put, the bride and groom must be the center of attention and if you absolutely positively have to make a big announcement get explicit permission from the happy couple.
Meghan was widely reported to have broken that rule at Princess Eugenie’s wedding in October 2018. On the day of the ceremony, she and Harry told the Royal Family their big news, upstaging the big event. This apparently left Eugenie “upset” and she “told friends she felt the couple should have waited to share the news”
The defense is that Harry and Meghan were about to embark on an overseas tour and this was their last opportunity to tell everyone in person, but it’s still not very cool.
Wrongdoing rating: 2/10
4. Ghosted her dad
Thomas Markle and Meghan were very close up until fairly recently. In a now deleted 2016 Instagram post celebrating Father’s Day, she said his “hugs are the very best in the whole wide world” and thanked him for raising her well.
Eight years later and Thomas is persona non grata. Around the time of Harry and Meghan’s wedding, Thomas began cashing in on his daughter with a series of tabloid stunts, culminating in him dropping out of the wedding itself and Meghan being walked down the aisle by Charles.
Thomas now feels he’s been “frozen out” of her life, can’t get in touch with his daughter, and gave an extensive interview criticizing his daughter as “cold” and that “she’d be nothing without me.” He’s not on good terms with Harry either. On their one phonecall Thomas said: “Maybe it would be better for you guys if I was dead … then you could pretend to be sad.”
Despite everything, perhaps Meghan could extend an olive branch once more as her dad is clearly going through some stuff.
Wrongdoing rating: 2/10
5. “Megxit”
Rightly or wrongly, much of the blame for Prince Harry giving up his royal responsibilities and departing the U.K. is placed at Meghan’s feet – to the point where the situation is succinctly dubbed “Megxit”.
This was rooted in the Royal family’s shabby treatment of her. A reported conversation with a friend saw Meghan say: “I gave up my entire life for this family. I was willing to do whatever it takes. But here we are. It’s very sad.”
Internally the Royal family and palace staff are said to blame Meghan, but the couple claim Harry was the instigator for leaving after he became increasingly disillusioned with their duplicitous backstabbing nature. As for the morality? Well, Harry and Meghan voluntarily cut themselves off from royal funding and many privileges to do this, so we can only assume they believe it’s necessary for them and their children.
Wrongdoing rating: 1/10
6. Accused of bullying staff
In 2021 The Times newspaper published a bombshell expose alleging Meghan’s bullying behavior saw personal assistants left in tears and undermined the confidence of other staff members. The victims went unnamed in the article, though Buckingham Palace press offices expressed concern and hired a private company to investigate the allegations.
In June 2022 the report was turned in with various “recommendations”, though its conclusions have never been made publically available. A Royal source told CNN that they wanted the staff involved to remain anonymous, arguing “we have a duty to respect that confidentiality.”
Meanwhile, Meghan’s spokesperson came out swinging: “Let’s just call this what it is — a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation” and noted that the story appeared to have been timed to draw attention away from their bombshell Oprah interview.
It’s difficult to figure out what really happened here. It’s likely Meghan had some negative interactions with the Royal staff but nobody is giving specifics. Maybe one day we’ll learn more.
Wrongdoing rating 4/10
7. Aired dirty laundry in public while Prince Philip was hospitalized
Harry and Meghan’s 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey was the dictionary definition of spilling the tea. The pair were frank about the racism Meghan experienced from the British press and their feeling they’d been hung out to dry by the Royal family, Meghan also said she experienced suicidal thoughts and detailed an incident where an unnamed senior royal speculated on her unborn child’s skin color.
In the wake of the interview, many argued that loyalty to family should come above all else, that it’s wrong to put this out while Prince Philip was seriously ill, and that it’s hypocritical to plea for privacy while outlining your most personal thoughts to Oprah on international TV for somewhere between $7 – 9 million.
Then again, if all she said was true the blame ultimately lies with the Royals for treating them like that.
Wrongdoing rating: 3/10
8. Campaigns about climate change while using private jets
Finally! Something Meghan does that is unambiguously bad! Meghan and Harry claim to have climate activism close to their hearts, with their official Instagram warning that there’s a “ticking clock” to save the planet, and said “every choice, every footprint, every action makes a difference”. All of which makes it nauseating that the couple chooses to zip around the world on a private jet, which adds much more carbon into the atmosphere than if they were to fly commercial.
We can also specifically blame Meghan for this, as Harry is said to be happy to fly commercial but Meghan prefers private jets for security reasons. They will argue that “carbon offsetting” neutralizes the damage they’re causing to the environment – but this is a flimsy excuse for preferring luxury to slumming with the public in *gasp* 1st class.
Hypocrisy at its finest.
Wrongdoing rating: 5/10
Conclusion
Compared to the sex criminals, sociopaths, and just-plain-weirdos that make up the rest of the Royals, Meghan really doesn’t look so bad with her score of 20/80, making her (so far) the least worst royal. As to why the British press hates her so much…? I guess you can be the judge of what specific prejudice is underlying all that.
Sure, Meghan is probably vain, incredibly self-centered, and may or may not have a short temper, but if we had to socialize with any of these privileged ghouls, we’d rather it be Meghan.
