Meghan Markle possibly facing huge career choice, in move that could be her ‘craziest’ yet
The Duchess of Sussex’s name is reportedly in the mix for a US Senate seat but entering politics could put their titles and millions on the line.
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If anyone doesn’t think that the universe works in strange ways, consider this: Five years ago this month newlywed love birds and bright shiny saviours of the British monarchy Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were on the cusp of what would be a barnstorming tour of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.
They would be showered with so much praise and adoration you would have thought they had cured cancer while simultaneously negotiating peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict; thousands upon thousands of people would flock to see them like the second-comings in well-pressed jeans; and the duchess would bake the royal family’s first publicly proffered loaf of banana bread.
Yet here we are today, about to discuss whether said same duchess of the baked goods could be about to be named Washington as the United States’ newest Senator.
Late last week the legendary political force Dianne Feinstsein passed away at 90-years-old, leaving her seat vacant.
It is now up to California Governor and potential future presidential hopeful Gavin Newsom to pick an interim Senator however he has pledged to replace her with a woman of colour and to not choose any of the declared candidates for the post.
Enter stage left the very clearly Democratic Party-aligned force for compassion and cashmere, Meghan.
The Mail on Sunday has reported that “within minutes of 90-year-old Feinstein’s death being announced … ‘phones lit up’ with speculation the Duchess of Sussex could throw her hat in the ring.”
One source has told The Mail: “There are not that many women who fit the bill. Which is why Meghan’s name is being bandied about.”
It might only be ‘bandying’ at this stage Meghan Goes to Washington could turn things upside down, inside out and on their head, in both Montecito and London.
If the Duchess of Sussex was to throw her hat into the arena it would hardly come as a shock, given that she and Harry have not exactly hid their Democratic tendencies and interest in the government arena under a bushel.
In September 2020, a close friend of the former actor told Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl:
“One of the reasons [the duchess] was so keen not to give up her American citizenship was so she had the option to go into politics.”
In February 2021 it was confirmed that the Sussexes had had a one-hour “introductory meeting” via video call with Governor Newsom.
Later that same month, a prominent Democratic strategist told The Times that Meghan was “definitely putting her toe in the water” and following the “well-worn path” by those who had segued into politics like Arnold Schwarznegger.
Also in 2021, Meghan was revealed to have been cold-calling Senators to campaign for paid parental leave and appeared at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit to advocate on the issue.
In 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe Vs Wade, the duchess spoke to Vogue with Gloria Steinem, with the title reporting that the duo had “been formulating a plan to get the Equal Rights Amendment ratified.”
The Sussexes’ have also, for years now, been aligning themselves with Democratic powerbrokers.
In 2019 Meghan interviewed Michelle Obama for her guest-edited issue of British Vogue before late the same year inviting Hillary Clinton to visit them at home at Frogmore Cottage.
Their Montecito neighbour Nicole Avant was President Barack Obama’s ambassador to the Bahamas (and wife of Netflix head honcho CEO Ted Sarandos) and have been embraced by Democratic royalty – the Kennedys – being tapped for Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award.
The juicy thing to contemplate here is, while Meghan might fit the job to a tee, would she actually want it?
On one hand, it would guarantee the 42-year-old more than 13 months of starring on the US national stage and put her at the very beating heart of American democracy. (Well, at least until another angry mob of pasty Reddit-readers drenched in Lynx Africa have a crack at a new insurrection.)
The advent of the Senator from Suits would put the Sussex name back on the map in terms of having actual importance, sway and weight in a way it hasn’t for years. It would also prevent their total slide into the irrelevance of being little more Californian celebrities.
And, it could help position the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as the antimatter, if you will, to William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales as bright young things playing on the international stage.
However, would all that be enough to attract the duchess, right as she is poised to launch herself as some sort of digital taste tsar? (In September, the Telegraph’s Victoria Ward reported, “preparing to launch a major new commercial venture” which is something that is “genuine to who she is”.)
The job of Senator comes with a $USD174,000 salary ($AUD270,000), which might pay for one of the Sussexes’ retinue team of bodyguards at most. While the couple has banked oodles of money thanks to Spotify, Netflix and Harry’s book, their peak earning years may very well be behind them with their cultural currency close to having totally petered out.
Thus, someone is going to need to be pulling in serious dough to keep the House of Montecito chugging along in the years to come. Is it really like to be Harry and his reported African conservation doco?
Another question: Is Washington a world that Meghan would really want to play in?
Would she be willing to risk being left to play second fiddle to exciting, progressive voices like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?
The danger here would be, once the novelty of an actual duchess daily turning up to the Senate Office building wears off, everyone from Politco to People would lose interest in covering her the stunt-hiring of a Senator and Banana Republic shirt dresses.
Also, practically, would Meghan be willing to regularly leave her two young children, Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two, on the other side of the US while she is forced to sit through all-night sessions on the Senate floor while the two sides tangle over corn tariffs or whatever?
In all of this there is the ‘C’ question – just how would King Charles react to his daughter-in-law throwing herself in the highly partisan, sharp-clawed world of American politics?
If, and this is an Everest-sized ‘if’, Meghan was to enter the fray, there would surely be some sort of Buckingham Palace push back and quick sticks manoeuvring in terms of their Sussex title. Would the duchess be willing to sacrifice being a duchess for the sake of the occasional photo op with Nancy Pelosi or a guaranteed invitation to the Buttigiegs’ Cinco de Mayo potluck?
There could also be possible repercussions for Harry’s role as a Counsellor of State back in the UK.
Where, I wonder, will we be a year from now? Will Meghan be the darling of DC, the princess of the Potomac, or competing with Gwyneth Paltrow for a cut of the celebrity candle business? Will the duchess be a newly-established political force to be reckoned with or trying to make millions selling matcha kits?
And, in all of this, where will Harry be? Will he, 12 months on, have managed to get his next Netflix doco off the ground, finally? To have written a book not about how rubbish his family is?
To co-opt a line from a major Democratic donor, who is close to Governor Newsom, speaking to the Mail about Meghan potentially being tapped for the Senate, “Crazier things have happened.”
“Crazier” indeed.
Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and a royal commentator with more than 15 years experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.
Originally published as Meghan Markle possibly facing huge career choice, in move that could be her ‘craziest’ yet
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