Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, used a personal essay published Wednesday in The New York Times about her July miscarriage as a platform from which to opine about George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and U.S. politics.
After describing the morning of her miscarriage and what it was like for her and Prince Harry to suffer such a loss, Markle pivoted to the unrest that has afflicted the U.S. in 2020.
“This year has brought so many of us to our breaking points,” Markle wrote. “Loss and pain have plagued every one of us in 2020, in moments both fraught and debilitating. We’ve heard all the stories: A woman starts her day, as normal as any other, but then receives a call that she’s lost her elderly mother to Covid-19. A man wakes feeling fine, maybe a little sluggish, but nothing out of the ordinary. He tests positive for the coronavirus and within weeks, he — like hundreds of thousands of others — has died.”
Markle continued:
A young woman named Breonna Taylor goes to sleep, just as she’s done every night before, but she doesn’t live to see the morning because a police raid turns horribly wrong. George Floyd leaves a convenience store, not realizing he will take his last breath under the weight of someone’s knee, and in his final moments, calls out for his mom. Peaceful protests become violent. Health rapidly shifts to sickness. In places where there was once community, there is now division.
On top of all of this, it seems we no longer agree on what is true. We aren’t just fighting over our opinions of facts; we are polarized over whether the fact is, in fact, a fact. We are at odds over whether science is real. We are at odds over whether an election has been won or lost. We are at odds over the value of compromise.
Markle went on to say that despite the national turmoil, Americans will be “OK.”
“As much as we may disagree, as physically distanced as we may be, the truth is that we are more connected than ever because of all we have individually and collectively endured this year,” Markle said.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have repeatedly offered their opinion on political issues, prompting one lawmaker to call for them to be stripped of their royal titles. As The Daily Wire reported:
Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) sent a letter to the British ambassador to the United States on Friday asking the government of the United Kingdom to stop Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, from weighing in on the 2020 presidential election.
“I am writing to express concern with Their Royal Highness The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their continued interference in the United States presidential election,” Smith began.
“As you know, the British Royal Family has long observed a policy of strict neutrality in regard to political matters,” Smith continued. “I am therefore concerned by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s recent comments regarding the United States Presidential Election, especially given international conversations surrounding foreign interference in our elections and the Duke’s status as a guest of the United States.”
“Last month, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex recorded a joint broadcast urging American citizens to register to vote and to, ‘reject hate speech, misinformation, and online registry.’ The Duchess of Sussex, whose political opinions are thinly disguised and widely reported, went so far as to label the 2020 election the, ‘most important election of our lifetime.’ These actions represent a serious breach of the British Royal Family’s policy of political neutrality and an inappropriate act of domestic interference by one of our closest allies.”
“Additionally, while I understand the Duke and Duchess no longer utilize the style of His or Her Royal Highness, they nevertheless retain these prefixes and remain known as The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. It is also my understanding that the Royal Family has stated these comments were made in a personal capacity of Her Majesty the Queen, given with the advice and consent of her government, prevent the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from separating comments made in a personal capacity from their official position within the British Royal Family.”
Smith went so far as to demand that Queen Elizabeth even consider stripping Harry and Meghan of their royal titles if they refuse to stop offering their opinion on American politics.
Related: Prince Harry: Meghan Markle Taught Me ‘Unconscious Bias’