Susie O’Brien: Moaning Meghan should accept how blessed she is
Meghan and Prince Harry stood in one of the most impoverished continents and talked about it how hard it was to be them. So before you fall for this victimhood, spare a thought for those who don’t live a life of extraordinary privilege, writes Susie O’Brien.
Susie O'Brien
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Precious, thin-skinned Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, had the gall to stand in one of the most impoverished continents on earth and complain how hard she’s got it.
“When people are saying things that are just untrue, and have been told they’re untrue but they’re allowed to still say them, I don’t know anybody in the world that would feel like that’s OK,” Meghan said in a recent ITV documentary.
She and her husband Prince Harry said they wanted to “shine a light on hardship” on their African tour, but all they did was talk about it how hard it was to be them.
Putting on her best weepy victim voice, Meghan said “not many people have asked if I am okay”. But why should we? And Harry is doing his bit to help bolster Meghan’s victimhood status by suing two media outlets for bullying her.
News of the lawsuit emerged halfway through the tour, switching the media focus from issues on the ground in Africa to the personal lives of the couple.
How’s that going to help those affected by war, famine or landmines?
From the start, people have been well-intentioned towards the American Duchess. I think she performed well when she was pregnant and I know she charmed everyone she met on her recent Australian tour. So, if she’s not okay now, it’s not our fault.
We want our royals to be respectful, appreciative and gracious and share important parts of their private lives, such as births and christenings.
What we don’t want is rambling, sanctimonious self-serving complaints.
We don’t want endless “I” statements, self-analysis and psychobabble.
And we don’t want feel-good mantras that excuse any behaviour or opinion — however crazy or ill-intentioned — because they are authentic and “real”.
Channelling his American wife, even Harry is talking about his desire to be “real and focus on being the people that we are and standing up for what we believe in”.
Ordinary people who don’t lead lives of extraordinary privilege funded by others don’t see being “real” as a status symbol — their lives are real enough already.
Meghan may see her life as challenging, but the average Brit struggling to make ends meet while politicians squabble over Brexit wouldn’t feel that much sympathy.
She may be a new mother, but she’s got an army of nannies, a supportive husband, piles of money and something that can’t be bought: status and influence on a global stage.
And yet, just a few years in, Meghan is musing that “the grass is always greener”.
“I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair,” she said in the documentary.
She should be told that royals must surf the wave of public opinion. Sometimes things that aren’t true will be written, but for all the stories that are malicious, there are thousands more that are positive.
Meghan said she “would hope that people in the world would get to a point where you just see us as a couple who is in love”.
“I’m Meghan and I married this incredible man. This to me is just part of our love story,” she said.
Who talks like that?
She sounds like an Oprah fan at an empowerment convention, not a senior member of the British royal family.
I hope she gets to the point where she sees herself as a royal with a job to do, not just a woman in love.
But I fear she is too self-centred to see how most people outside the US view her.
The American way is the rhetoric of uplift, empowerment and the channelling “impactful” thoughts.
Meghan and those like her can’t see that all the uplift in the world isn’t going to make any difference to those stuck in generational poverty or struggling to find a job despite applying for hundreds of positions.
It doesn’t help that William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, don’t seem to put a foot wrong. They are getting on with family life while meeting their public obligations.
It’s no wonder they’re largely estranged from Harry and Meghan.
Life as a global figure isn’t always easy or fair, but those who hold positions of immense power and privilege get respect when they earn it, not when they ask for it.
Susie O’Brien is a Herald Sun columnist.
Originally published as Susie O’Brien: Moaning Meghan should accept how blessed she is