Meghan Markle Is ‘Not Popular’ In Royal Circles, Her Diva Behavior To Blame?
The British press has not always been kind to Meghan Markle since the American actress became part of the royal family, but insiders say that the Duchess of Sussex has no one to blame but herself. Over the past year, Markle has earned a reputation of being “difficult” and “demanding,” thanks to her diva behavior, but some claim there is a racially-biased subtext to that narrative.
Palace staff call Meghan Markle ‘Duchess Difficult’
During the recent CBS News Special Meghan and Harry Plus One, royal author Angela Levin told Gayle King that palace staff calls Markle “Duchess Difficult” because of her love of early morning texts. The 37-year-old reportedly overwhelms her team with demands before the day starts, and that has made her extremely unpopular.
“I think she is not popular in a lot of circles. It’s often because they adore Harry and they seem to think that she is running the show,” says Levin.
According to The Express, Vanessa Grigoriadis – contributing editor at Vanity Fair – the number of people who have quit the royal staff since Markle married Prince Harry is “extraordinary,” but she also praised the Duchess for being a “go-getter” who has a lot of ideas and wants to do as much as she can in the world.
Is Meghan Markle really a diva?
After working for Markle for just six months, her personal assistant quit last December because of her alleged diva demands. Author Robert Jobson wrote in his book Charles at 70: Thoughts, Hopes, and Dreams that Prince Harry made it clear to everyone ahead of the royal wedding that “what Meghan wants, she gets.”
However, this diva reputation does not fit Markle says her friend, Janina Gavankar. The actress says that Markle doesn’t read the stories written about her – no matter if they are good or bad – because she can’t live her life based on the headlines. She added that Markle doesn’t deserve the negative press she gets.
Meghan Markle’s makeup artist Daniel Martin agrees with Gavankar, and has strongly defended the Duchess, saying that it’s frustrating to hear the diva stories because they aren’t true.
“It’s not the same person. In the years I’ve known her, the years I’ve worked with her, she’s never had a diva fit, never,” said Martin.
The Managing Editor of The Glow Up, Maiysha Kai, says that the negative stories about Markle aren’t just tabloid fodder.
“Whether it is saying she is difficult or demanding, there is a subtext there that reads very much into this angry black woman stereotype, that leads into a domineering woman stereotype and that doesn’t just allow her to be a human being who has agency and who wants to do the best that she can,” says Kai.
Piers Morgan says Meghan and Harry are hypocrites
One of Meghan’s harshest critics in the British media is Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan, who wrote a scathing piece in the Mail Online about the Duchess after she and her husband released a series of never-before-seen pictures from their wedding day to celebrate their first anniversary.
Morgan has no problem using the “diva” label to describe Meghan, and he wrote that she and Harry – as well as Prince William and Kate Middleton – are acting like they are “in a royal reality TV show where the winner gets most press coverage in a short period of time.”
The TV host is obviously not happy with this new generation of royals, but he singled out Meghan for “leading the charge,” accusing the former Hollywood actress of viewing publicity “as a giant tiara-adorned tap from which she wishes to determinedly control every single droplet.”
Morgan was hoping that Meghan Markle would back off from the self-promotion because of the insane amount of news coverage she received after giving birth to Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, but she hasn’t. Instead, says Morgan, the Duchess continues to post on Instagram, which he says is hypocritical because she and Harry have spoken out about social media and its negative effects on mental health.
He also accused Meghan Markle of convincing her friends to publicly defend her and say she isn’t a diva. But, Morgan suggests that if people have to get their friends to deny they’re a diva, then “you know they’re a diva.”