Prince Harry saying Meghan Markle is not like other women who marry into the royal family has gained attention on TikTok.
The Duke of Sussex said Meghan arrived with fans from her acting career who had an existing impression of who she was, making it harder for the media to mold her image.
His comments, during an interview with ABC‘s Michael Strahan in the run up to the publication of his book Spare, in January 2023, resurfaced days before the release of the paperback version this week.
A clip on TikTok, which has been viewed more than 73,000 times and liked 5,700 times, shows Prince Harry saying: “They’re [other royal women are] coming in almost with a blank slate and it gives the British press an opportunity to cast them in a particular role.
Karwai Tang/WireImage
“And when Meghan came into the fold they tried to do that to her as well. But she was coming into a relationship with me in her mid 30s.
“She had a very public career of which millions of people knew who she was because they’d been following her but this time fans and people that knew Meghan were pushing back and saying that’s categorically false. You can’t say that based on the fact we know who she is.”
The footage was posted alongside a caption which read: “It’s how Prince Harry has never held back from reminding people that unlike other women who married in to the royal family with ‘a blank slate’ Meghan had her own successful life, a career, had her own money, had created her own path in the world.
“It’s his friends saying how they wished Harry meets someone who had already created their own path in life 🗣️💥👀.
@looveliveshere It’s how Prince Harry has never held back from reminding people that unlike other women who married in to the royal family with “ a blank slate ” Meghan had her own successful life , a carrier,had her own money ,had created her own path in the world . Its his friends saying how they wished Harry meets someone who had already created their own path in life 🗣️💥👀. Prince Harry choosing to spit nothing but facts . Meghan had a successful job , was travelling the world for charity work with #unitednations #worldvision #humanrights #HarryandMeghan #MeghanandHarry #MeghanMarkle
“Prince Harry choosing to spit nothing but facts. Meghan had a successful job, was travelling the world for charity work with #unitednations #worldvision.”
Meghan had already established herself as an actor when she met Harry in 2016, around the time season six of Suits was first broadcast that summer.
Their relationship became public knowledge at the end of October and sparked a media feeding frenzy that November.
Prince Harry’s spokesperson at the time, Jason Knauf, released a strongly worded statement seeking to protect her privacy: “The past week has seen a line crossed. [Harry’s] girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment.
“Some of this has been very public—the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.
“Some of it has been hidden from the public—the nightly legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of papers; her mother having to struggle past photographers in order to get to her front door; the attempts of reporters and photographers to gain illegal entry to her home and the calls to police that followed; the substantial bribes offered by papers to her ex-boyfriend; the bombardment of nearly every friend, co-worker, and loved one in her life.”
Jack Royston is Newsweek‘s chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
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