Louise Roberts: Meghan could learn from Mary’s masterclass in playing the long game
There are plenty of royal role models Meghan Markle could learn from, writes Louise Roberts, but as our Mary prepares to become the first Australian-born queen in Europe, Ms Markle is languishing in LA like a dated game show hostess.
Opinion
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If Meghan Markle had played the long game and ushered in her mission for change as a loyal working member of the Royal Family, would she now be soaking in success rather than drowning in universal derision?
In a week where Tassie law graduate Mary Donaldson positions a well-shod foot ready to take a step as the first Australian-born Queen in Europe, Meghan is languishing like a dated game show hostess when we consider the life strategy meticulously executed by her regal sisters.
Camilla and Mary are Queens, Kate will eventually be crowned, and even Fergie got a coveted Christmas Day spot on the path to Sandringham’s Church of St Mary Magdalene, signalling King Charles has little bandwidth for perpetuating old feuds.
Meghan can only marvel from her Montecito mansion at the strategic prowess displayed by these remarkable women.
Since the loss of her multimillion-dollar Spotify deal last June, there’s been No Deal on her career makeover, and the silence of Californian tumbleweed is what we’ve got, except for a brief acting comeback coffee ad.
Or as impeccably-sourced royal biographer Tom Bower noted bluntly of the Duchess this week: “What’s interesting is most of last year she’s been pretty quiet — especially during Harry’s book launch.
She was clearly building up to something but she couldn’t land it. She couldn’t land the big fish.”
It’s the long game — this thing of being heard, understood and respected. A sovereign strategy.
Hermes blankets, calculated TV ‘truth’ bombs, the cat and mouse-style racism claims and nowhere-near catastrophic car chases through the gluey traffic of Manhattan are stunts never, ever required.
Reactive, rather than strategic, does not get you the prize.
Sure, the expectations placed upon female royal members are paradoxical. They are modern women in ancient roles tap-dancing between upholding tradition and embracing progressive values.
Even Fergie, once the party girl pariah of the Royal Family thanks to toe sucking, Texan pals and other transgressions, has worked quietly to prove her worth and inch her way back into The Firm.
She permitted herself a telling Instagram post over the festive season confirming her renewed place in the family: “We are enjoying each other’s company and feeling grateful today,” Fergie wrote.
Along with Mary, the Windsor women’s individual approaches to their roles share a common thread of resilience while proving that a woman can wield influence as deftly as Charles’s diamond sceptre.
No Oprah prime time segment required.
Queen Elizabeth’s reign was, as we know, marked by poise. As a female monarch, she shattered conventions.
In the grand scheme of the regal chessboard, Elizabeth’s moves were deliberate and always with an eye on the legacy she would leave. Humble not arrogant.
This meant navigating the shifting tides of politics, culture and public opinion with a commitment to service and the throne — the essence of playing the long game.
From the moment she entered the public arena as Prince William’s girlfriend to her current role as a future queen, Kate has implicitly understood that success within the monarchy isn’t measured in headlines or instant adoration, but in the enduring impact she can make over time.
The Princess of Wales has evolved her role within the Windsors, deftly expanding her responsibilities.
Playing her long game involves a dedication to the greater duty, a commitment that goes beyond personal desires or Hollywood A-listers on WhatsApp, while balancing peripatetic royal duties with parenting.
That she has never clapped back at Meghan’s — and by extension Harry’s — accusations is further evidence of her determination to take the high ground and not hitch her wagon to the Sussex sideshow.
Patience, a virtue often overlooked in a world dominated by instant gratification, became Camilla’s ally.
Once branded the most hated woman in Britain thanks to her long-term affair with Charles when he was married to Diana, reputation rehabilitation has been a hard slog.
Camilla has kept her head down and resisted the talk-show circus, her stoicism endearing her ultimately to her predecessor.
Her ability to bide her time, to allow the public perception to evolve gradually and move beyond the joint betrayal of Diana, was a plan that has paid off in the long run.
Meghan burst on to the royal stage with a promise of modernity and inclusivity, a breath of fresh air as we all believed while watching her marry Harry.
But members of the Royal Family are not celebrities. They are symbols of continuity, serving as links between the past, present and future.
Meghan had the opportunity to contribute positively to this evolution. But no. Observe the net result.
And so to Our Mary. She has played the long game and won the prize — the throne.
It is disingenuous and unfair to attribute the promotion on what seems to be a hasty regal bandaid applied to her 20-year marriage to hide the wounds of Fred’s alleged affair.
But if Meghan really believes 2024 can be her year of redemption to erase her family landmines, she needs a new blueprint for Duchess life.
Never complain, never explain has the runs on the board — as these women prove.
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