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LONDON – The explosive interview given by Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, captivated millions of viewers in the US and UK this month.
When it comes to the couple’s sanity, race, finances and public family fallout, the successful program has created an ongoing media frenzy of intrigue about what is going on behind the palace walls.
But reactions to the interview revealed another divide: distinct cultural sensitivities on both sides of the Atlantic.
While the self-exiled royal family received overwhelmingly favorable press coverage and social media comments in America, in Britain the couple’s confession was greeted with more than a dollop of disapproval.
Some UK tabloids called the pair ‘selfish’, ‘smelly’ and said the interview was damaging to the Queen as they mocked the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for going against the stance British traditional “stiff upper lip” to expose personal family issues the American media mogul Oprah Winfrey.
In doing so, the argument goes, they reduced the over 1,000-year-old institution of monarchy to the fodder of celebrity talk shows.
“This interview took away any sympathy I had for the couple,” Mark Graham, 52, an education trainer from Cambridgeshire, east England, told NBC News.
“I thought it was very organized and calculated. Most definitely one-sided and focused.”
Far from damaging the monarchy, Graham said, the “sad affair” had only strengthened the position and popularity of the royal family in Britain.
For Pauline Farren, 50, originally from London but now living in Ireland, her sympathies also go out to Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family.
“I was disgusted with them. I don’t like Meghan very much and I’m sorry for Harry, ”she said. “It was extremely foolish to air their dirty laundry in public after all the Royal Family has done for them.”
The timing was also provocative, she added.
“Prince Philip is very ill in the hospital and the timing could not have been worse, we are in the middle of a pandemic,” she said. “They look like spoiled and ungrateful millionaires.”
Philip, 99, was released from a London hospital on Tuesday, returning to Windsor Castle after a month of treatment for an unspecified infection and pre-existing heart disease.
A YouGov opinion poll released after the interview found that this had hurt the popularity of the two royals, with 48% of Britons now having a negative opinion of Harry – a drop of 15 points since the start of the March. It was also the first time that approval had dipped into negative territory for the prince.
Meghan has done worse: only 3 in 10 people in the UK now have a positive opinion of her, according to the poll.
Across the pond, however, that was apparently a different story.
“The first thought I had, looking at Meghan Markle, was that she was so genuine. I was immediately struck by her clarity and that she was telling the absolute truth about her experiences,” said Chris Pluto. , 44, line cook in a restaurant in Pittsburgh.
Pluto said Meghan had shown “courage” to speak out about her mental health, an approach that resonated and aroused empathy among many Americans.
“It made me cry. I felt that experience. I felt the honesty of what she was saying,” Pluto added.
The Duchess said during the interview that the pressure of royal life has left her suicidal at times. “I just didn’t want to be alive anymore,” she told Winfrey.
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Former First Lady Michelle Obama, singer Beyoncé and White House press secretary Jen Psaki were among Americans applauding Meghan for speaking openly about race and mental health.
“It seems to me that the United States is much more open to discussing important issues related to mental health and racism. Britain tends to look the other way,” said British author and biographer Meghan Sean. Smith.
“Here in the UK we have spent far too much time discussing the hurt feelings of TV host Piers Morgan,” he added.
Morgan has said on air he doubts some of Meghan’s comments and subsequently stopped hosting a morning show to “spend more time with my opinions”, he tweeted. UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom has so far received more than 57,000 complaints from the public about its comments.
For Brittney Watters, 31, communications manager for the Fresno Unified School District in California, the royal interview “was so relatable.”
“What Meghan Markle was talking about happened to me. I’m not a celebrity. I’m a middle class everyday worker,” she said.
“I experienced racism, oppression. I had suicidal thoughts, I felt exhausted and tired from my efforts as a black woman – constantly trying to fight the system.”
Meghan said a royal insider had expressed ‘concerns’ to Harry about the dark color of their children’s skin. The couple declined to name the individual, but Winfrey later said that Harry made it clear that it was neither the Queen nor Philip.
Reflecting its traditionally stoic attitude, Buckingham Palace issued a 61-word statement in response to the interview.
“The questions raised, in particular that of race, are of concern,” he said. “While some memories may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be treated by the family in private.”
Harry’s brother Prince William has dismissed the race allegations, telling reporters in London on March 11: “We really are not a racist family.”
But that only fueled the appetite of the press and the public in both countries to learn more about the family drama.
The position of the queen among the British, however, remains relatively unknown, 4 in 5 people love her, according to the YouGov poll. William and his wife, Kate, also remain extremely popular – around three-quarters of Britons giving them favorable reviews.
Londoner Adie Perkins said following the royal revelations he was sure the institution “would find a way to get over it” because “there is too much love for the monarchy”, but added that ‘he had found the interview “quite shocking” and was left with little sympathy for Meghan and Harry.
Not all British people are royalists.
A #abolishthemonarchy Trending hashtag on Twitter after the interview, among those supporting a republic.
For the biographer Smith, little could or should change about the monarchy while Elizabeth II reigned, and attempts to pit members of the transatlantic family against each other are pointless.
“In my opinion, nothing will change as long as the Queen is on the throne … she deserves respect,” he said.
“For me that respect includes the media not using her as a sweet little granny against Meghan. They are both substantial women and deserve to be treated accordingly.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME at 741741, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
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