In a recent interview Meghan Markle revealed that she has not yet “scratched the surface” of the trauma she experienced as a working royal in Britain, in an indirect suggestion that future bombshell revelations could be on the horizon for Buckingham Palace.
However, if the duchess were to do so, this could jeopardize the positive impact she is having with Prince Harry in the charitable sector, according to a new episode of Newsweek‘s The Royal Report podcast.
Speaking to listeners, Chief Royal Correspondent Jack Royston warned that revisiting their era of launching complaints and accusations against the monarchy and Britain “could play very badly” for Harry and Meghan if these bombshells simply re-cover old ground.
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Meghan responded to a direct question about the negative mental health impact of her time in Britain during her interview with CBS Sunday Morning host Jane Pauley on August 4. The duchess appeared alongside Harry as they launched the new Archewell Foundation Parent’s Network, supporting parents as their children face the dangers and downsides of social media.
The couple have made significant progress and achievements in their philanthropic work since the beginning of 2023, when their popularity in Britain and America plummeted in the wake of the release of their six-part Netflix show and Harry’s memoir, which listed a number of grievances against the monarchy and British media.
After the release of his memoir, the prince said he was not going to be “stuck in the past,” telling broadcaster Tom Bradby that now the book and Netflix show were done “we can focus on looking forward and I’m excited about that.”
Meghan did not initiate the discussion of her past experiences as a working royal in her CBS Sunday Morning interview, but the issue in itself being raised could prove tricky for her to navigate moving forward.
“You know, these comments by Meghan do feel a bit like there could be an appetite among Harry and Meghan for telling at least some elements of this story again,” Royston told Royal Report listeners.
“We know that Meghan did not like being told she couldn’t talk. You know, it was one of the big lines from the Oprah interview, was Oprah saying, ‘Were you silent or where you silenced?’ And she’s talked lots of times about losing her voice when she joined the monarchy and wanting to get her voice back and wanting to be able to talk.
“But honestly, if I was advising Meghan, I would tell her not to revisit this issue.”
Royston suggested that to do so could risk undermining the public support that the couple have been slowly regaining at home and abroad, and that the focus should now be on the important work being done with the Parent’s Network.
“You know, this project about social media and mental health is an area that really genuinely concerns parents right up and down the age range of young kids,” he said.
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“It’s a massive issue and I think Harry and Meghan’s focus here needs to be on turning this project towards creating actual solutions and advice and resources for parents, so that they can have some sense that they know what to do when their kids hit that age when they want social media, but are also extremely vulnerable to its darker side.
“If they can get on kind of a positive footing here and have a positive message about making things better, improving the situation for parents, then I think it could be a fantastic project. You know, if they can give parents something they really, truly need, then Americans will thank them for it. And actually, all over the world as well, because this is an issue all over the planet.”
“But,” he added, “If they wind up getting too far into their royal beef and all of that negative history that people have heard before anyway, then they will come out looking like they’ve potentially politicized, certainly if it’s in the context of this project, that they’ve politicized a really important issue that actually deserves to be viewed in a nonpartisan way.”
Newsweek approached representatives of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry via email for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III and Queen Camilla, William and Kate, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.