They say there is two sides to every story. Whoever came up with that quote is one hundred percent correct. It is the aftermath of the Oprah interview that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did. It is just mind blowing to see how people have reacted. I did a semi reaction to it last night but I was so tired I didn’t get a chance to do a deeper dive into it. That’s what I’m going to do here.
So, in the media today, there have some publications that have been fact checking some of the things Meghan and Harry said in their interview. I’ve found a couple of articles that have done this and thought I would explain what some of them mean and how they fit into the aftermath.
Before I begin, I just to say that these are purely my thoughts and the facts are from the named publications unless stated otherwise. So, please I beg of the Sugars who might be reading this; don’t take your grievances out on me. Trust the facts of what is being presented. That is all I ask.
Also, I want to say that this is not me being cruel to the Sussexes. Far from it. I, much like many others, have questions and want things debunked.
Archie’s Title
Okay, so the first fact check that was done in the aftermath. This is the complaint over Archie not having title. It’s Meghan’s belief that having one ensured he would have security. I’ll get to this point in a bit.
Now, Meghan assumed having a title at birth meant you would be automatically given security. Sorry, this not how it works. I’m going to break it down as simply as I can because it’s a little confusing for me as well.
The reason why Archie did not get a title has nothing to do with his mixed race roots.
In 1917, The Queen’s grandfather, King George V created the Letters Patent which limits titles given to those in the line of succession. This is according to Politifact. The article explains that prince and princess – HRH (his/her royal highness) are reserved for the children and grandchildren of the monarch. This means the eldest son of the Prince of Wales and his offspring.
The reason Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte have the HRH Prince/Princess titles is because their father is the eldest son of the Prince of Wales.
Originally, the rule was that only the eldest grandson of the Prince of Wales was to have a title. This was changed prior to the birth of Prince George where any siblings would be given the titles too. However, the Queen did not extend this option for Archie because he is not in direct line for the throne.
Therefore, when Charles becomes King, it’s possible Archie will become a prince as he will be a grandchild of the monarch.
Archie’s Security
Now, Meghan says in the interview that because Archie doesn’t have a title, he wasn’t going to be protected. This is incorrect too. Just because someone has a title, does not mean they are automatically given protection. According to the Daily Mail, not all titled royals have 24/7 security.
Prime examples of this is Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice whose security is not paid for by the British taxpayer. This stopped when they turned 21.
Meghan’s Claim She Had Not Spoken To Her Half-Sister In 20 Years
In additional footage not included in the main interview, Oprah asks Meghan about her relationship with her half-sister, Samantha. The former actress claims that she had not seen her in 18-19 years and that they barely know each other.
However, this is a lie because the photo above was taken at Samantha’s graduation in 2008, three years before Meghan got her career boost in Suits.
Meghan Had To Hand Over Her Drivers Licence And Passport
Meghan made the claim that she had her keys, drivers licence and passport taken from her. This has to be false. She went to support Serena Williams at the US Open. You need a passport for any kind of plane travel, even if you’re traveling on a private jet.
Also, according to the same Daily Mail I included before, there has been no rule that has ever said that drivers licences or passports have had to be handed over.
Meghan’s Claim She Didn’t Research Or Known Anything About The Royal Family Or Prince Harry
Now, when it comes to the aftermath of the interview, fact-checking is being done by a lot of publications, including Project Fangirl. Now, this next great white lie told by Meghan is a doozy. She claims to not have researched the royal family or Prince Harry when they started dating.
She made this same claim during the engagement interview in November 2017. Now, just because someone repeats something, does not make it true. I did a bit of snooping through the Way Back Machine of Meghan’s former blog, The Tig. The discovery I made was fascinating and it refutes what the Duchess of Sussex’s claims.
I discovered in one of her TIG TALK posts that she had in fact, referenced Catherine as “Princess Kate” and the 2011 royal wedding during the one with Princess Alia Al-Senussi. In another post she mentions her now-father-in-law, Prince Charles as HRH The Prince of Wales as the founder of Turquoise Mountain.
Also, Meghan claims she knew Princess Eugenie before Harry. It should be known that they share mutual friends as Misha Nonoo’s ex-husband went to school at Eton College with Harry and William and he was friends with the princes.
Eugenie and Harry were always really close so I doubt Harry wouldn’t have come up in conversation.
Also, Ninaki Priddy who I have mentioned several times on the blog said in several Daily Mail articles it is stated that Meghan grew up fascinated with the royal family. She allegedly also had Princess Diana biographies.
What Priddy said was even backed up by Andrew Morton who not only wrote the Diana biography but one on Meghan called: Meghan: A Hollywood Princess according to ABS-CBN in 2018.
The Secret Wedding
Meghan makes the revelation to Oprah that she and Harry secretly married three days before the wedding that was televised. However, this is not likely to be true and here’s why. According to Insider, this could not have happened. The Church of England has a rule that at least two witnesses have to present.
Harry and Meghan claim that they got married in their backyard with just the two of them. However, it couldn’t be be legally binding for a couple of reasons:
- A wedding can only take place in a religious setting or a place where it is legal; so it it cannot be done in one’s backyard.
- An already married couple cannot re-marry.
It has been suggested that Harry and Meghan only recited vows and didn’t legally marry until the actual wedding.
When The Photos Of Thomas Markle Were Published
Meghan claims in the Oprah interview that the Mail on Sunday had the story of her father’s trip up with the paparazzi for a month. This is not true either.
According to the Daily Mail article I’ve referenced a number of times, the story was released within 24 hours after they received the verified information.
Meghan Was A ‘Prisoner’ Within The Palace And Could Not Leave For Months On End
One really weird allegation Meghan makes is that she was essentially a prisoner within the confines of the palace and that she wasn’t allowed to leave for months on end. This is proven to be false by the aforementioned Daily Mail article, I’ve used several times.
Now, the article says the situations would’ve varied depending on what she wanted to do. It alleges that she went out on lunch dates with Harry and she went for outings including spa days. The reason I’m including this is because it is stated that paparazzi tried to sell photos of several newspapers and were declined.
Also, the staff within Kensington Palace would not be allowed to tell Meghan where she was allowed to go.
No Defence When Media Spoke Ill Of Meghan
To end the main focus on the post, I wanted to draw attention to a constant claim Meghan has made in not just the Oprah interview but has been bought up elsewhere is how the palace didn’t defend her when stories in the media were untrue. Again, this is false.
Moreover, Emily Andrews who is the royal correspondent for the Mail on Sunday said to the Daily Mail that Meghan’s press team actually did defend her multiple times. She said that she spoke to the press team herself and says they stopped her from publishing things that were not true about Meghan and/or Harry.
More And More Questions
As the aftermath of the interview continues to settle in, there are a number of unanswered questions too. Here’s a few I picked out:
- Why didn’t Meghan go to one of the palace doctors? According to Dickie Arbiter on Channel 9 Australia’s Royals in Crisis special, there are doctors available all the time. Also, why did she tell HR that she was suicidal when they’re not medical professionals?
- Why didn’t Meghan talk to her mother who worked in mental health?
- If Meghan knew Eugenie prior to meeting Harry, then why did she claim to not research the royals or not know about them?
- Harry joined forces with Catherine and William with their Heads Together initiative which focuses on mental health. This begs the question why he didn’t call a counsellor for Meghan?
In conclusion, there’s a lot more questions to be asked but I feel like the more there are, the less likely we’ll get answers.
