keeping up with the royals

Meghan Markle Is Mad She’s Not Allowed to Stand Up for Herself

Meghan Markle.
Meghan Markle. Photo: John Phillips/BFC/Getty Images

In light of the recent nonstop royal drama, Us Weekly has a new cover story about how Meghan Markle is dealing with all the negative attention — and parts of the story are slowly being released online. We just learned on Wednesday that Prince Harry wishes he could protect his pregnant wife from it all, and now, we’re hearing that Meghan is upset that she isn’t allowed to publicly stand up for herself.

If you want a full recap of the drama, I suggest taking a look here, but the gist is, negative stories about Prince William and Prince Harry earlier this fall seem to have had a domino effect, leading to stories coming out about Meghan’s (too good) work ethic and an alleged feud with Kate Middleton. And recently, some outlets have been reporting that another aide has quit Meghan’s team, although that news has been sensationalized as her current private secretary — Samantha Cohen — was always just a temporary staffer.

Over the past few weeks, various “sources” have dispelled the rumors to royal reporters, but the only time anyone formally associated with the family publicly contradicted one of the rumors was when Kensington Palace said “This never happened,” about a claim that Kate told Meghan off for being rude. Otherwise, members of the royal family — including Meghan — have stayed mum about it all.

But apparently (and understandably), Meghan is feeling frustrated that she isn’t permitted to speak out against the incessant reports. Per Us Weekly:

“It’s just been frustrating and stressful to have no voice,” a royal insider explains in the new issue of Us Weekly. “She’s always relied on her own voice to stand up for others, and for herself. So not being able to say anything is a debilitating feeling. She’s always been so independent, her entire life, and that’s all been taken away from her. She’s always been able to clap back on social media and now she can’t.”

It is true that Meghan was active on social media — and on her former blog, The Tig — before joining the royal family, and that she spent a lot of time and effort speaking out in support of women’s rights. We can only imagine how annoying it must be to now have all this power and an international platform, and yet feel like you’re being silenced.

Perhaps that’s why, as Lainey Gossip suggested, the Duchess of Sussex’s recent surprise appearance at the British Fashion Awards said so much. Meghan was poised, cool, and extremely chic as she spoke on stage at the ceremony — and looked as if she didn’t have a care in the world (other than her unborn child). If you can’t stand up for yourself with words, seeming completely unfazed by a ridiculous situation is the next best thing.

Meghan Markle Is Mad She Can’t Stand Up for Herself