The princess and the PR: Meghan Markle's image problem

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle might have hoped that their decision to exile themselves from the royal family five years ago would temper the lurid gossip and intense speculation about their private lives. But if anything, absence has made the heat grow stronger.

The latest article about them by ­Vanity Fair – which has "American Hustle" on its cover – "has proved to be difficult reading for the Sussexes", said The Times. The feature made several claims about their marriage, community relations in Montecito, California, and business challenges, which the couple reportedly found "distressing".

Markle in particular has taken considerable flak recently. Her public support of the Los Angeles wildfires relief efforts, where she was filmed on a walkabout in the badly affected Altadena and Pasadena districts, saw "'Princess Markle'" being "castigated for being no better than an 'ambulance chaser' in a city where she doesn’t 'live'", said The Independent. Then her "With Love, Meghan" cookery series on Netflix, originally due to begin last Wednesday, was delayed "as we focus on the needs of those impacted by the wildfires in my home state of California". But that announcement was also met with cynicism.

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It appears the "actor-cum-duchess can’t do right for wrong. And to trawl back, beyond the recent fire-disaster, is to be reminded that it was ever thus."

'Mean Girls'

Accusations of bullying levelled at Markle date back to 2018, said The Times, when palace staff were said to have been left in tears by her behaviour.

Last week, Vanity Fair spoke to people who had worked for Markle. They said that it was "very painful". One staff member described how there was "talking behind your back" and "gnawing at your sense of self" in a manner reminiscent of teenagers in the movie "Mean Girls". According to Vanity Fair, one former employee who was excited to begin working with the couple on media projects did not believe reports that Markle had bullied palace aides. After working with her, this person realised: "Oh, any given Tuesday, this happened," it is alleged. Sources close to the Sussexes said that previous employees had gone on record in the past to dispute these claims.

"Even the Sussexes cannot deny, however, that they have an unusually high team turnover," said Tatler. Their chief of staff, Josh Kettler, recently left his position after just three months in what was reportedly a mutual decision, with both sides agreeing "it wasn’t the right fit". But Kettler himself has called the couple "dedicated and hardworking", while Ben Browning, the couple's former head of content at their foundation Archewell, told Us Weekly that he had found the pair to be "positive and supportive", adding: "The narratives we’ve seen suggesting the contrary are untrue."

'Misogyny and racism'

So is there something more insidious behind the hatred towards the Sussexes, and Markle in particular? The recent furore over her new Netflix show "marks a sad and tedious continuation of the misogyny and racism" surrounding her, said Vogue. Many of the comments accuse Markle of stealing the IP of Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath. "Because the world doesn’t have space for more than one Black woman married to an English aristocrat who happens to cook on television."

The "act of hating her" has "evolved into the art of projecting the various wrongs of the world onto a woman", said Mamamia. The accusations of bullying have seen her "become a stand-in for every person who has treated us badly in the workplace or within our own families and is still publicly adored".

After the backlash over the wildfire relief efforts, publications such as People magazine later confirmed the couple worked a full day at an evacuation centre, "but that was not the story that rose to the surface", said Mamamia. The desire to be "the first one to the Meghan Markle commentary or critique has overridden our desire to look for the truth, the empathy or even the humour".