Meghan and Harry’s Criticisms of the Royal Family: Is Silence Golden?

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been making headlines with their recent public statements, including their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey and appearances on various platforms.

Their criticisms of the Royal Family, both as an institution and as individuals, have been relentless, and it seems that they have no intention of stopping anytime soon.

But their outspokenness did not start when they left the Royal Family.

In fact, just months into his relationship with Meghan, Prince Harry released a statement accusing the media of harassing and bullying his then-girlfriend.

According to Royal expert Katie Nicholl, Harry's statement packed a punch, with accusations of racist and sexist treatment of Meghan.

Several years later, he released another statement, using some explosive language and comparing the treatment of Meghan to that of his mother Princess Diana.

In the recent Channel 5 documentary, Meghan and Harry – Three Troubled Years, a Royal expert argued that the Sussexes would have fared better if they had followed the Queen's example in not responding to criticism.

Tom Quinn, author of Kensington Palace: From Queen Mary to Meghan Markle, insisted that the pair were making it worse for themselves.

He said, “They're like a drowning couple.

The more they struggle to escape the things they don't like, the more they sink.

You cannot control the media.

The Queen has managed to reach a position where she is very rarely criticized because when she has occasionally been criticized in the past, she says nothing.

It would be much better if Meghan and Harry simply said nothing.”

The Queen Mother's mantra, which she passed down to the Queen and the rest of the Royal family, was “never complain, never explain.”

This meant never responding to criticism, even when it is hurtful or untrue.

The argument was that if you respond to claims, that will only add fuel to the fire and mean you will be expected to comment on everything in the future.

However, Meghan clearly felt like she had been failed by the palace in not responding to claims made about her.

She told Oprah that the media embarked on a character assassination of her that the palace allowed to happen.

Now that the couple have extricated themselves from royal life and started a new chapter, they are free to say whatever they please.

However, it has been argued that the more they attack the media, the more it will respond.

The Queen giving criticism a dignified silence has allowed her to rise above it and maintain her popularity over nearly 70 years.

By contrast, Meghan and Harry's popularity has dipped considerably, both in the UK and the US.

They have even been accused of speaking about themselves too much without acknowledging their privilege, especially at a time when so many have been struggling with coronavirus, whether it be due to health reasons or having their livelihoods disrupted.

Piers Morgan, one of Meghan and Harry's biggest critics, said, “Meghan is just one of many whiny, privileged, hypocritical celebrities who now cynically exploit victimhood to suppress free speech, value their own version of the truth above the actual truth, and seek to cancel any tone that deviates from their woke world view or dares to challenge the veracity of their inflammatory statements.”

Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers said, “Where would the sympathy be for a 36-year-old man who is complaining about being cut off financially, who is worth the best part of £30 million?”

Meanwhile, Daily Mail editor-at-large Richard Kaye added that the palace viewed Harry's initial statement as “necessarily antagonistic,” as if he was “spoiling for a fight.”

He argued that Harry went about his plea for the media to back off in an “aggressive, confrontational way” that may have made things worse.

In conclusion, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been very vocal about their criticisms of the Royal Family, but it remains to be seen whether this approach will work in their favor.