The reason that Meghan Markle has been on the receiving end of a public backlash in the U.K. in recent weeks is that she is taking risks and breaking rules in an effort to modernize the British royal family, according to one royal expert.
Royal biographer Claudia Joseph told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme that she believed many of the negative headlines around Meghan were not a reaction to her race, but rather her strong and determined personality, according to a report in the Daily Mail .
Speaking alongside journalism professor Suzanne Franks and fashion designer Amal Fashanu, Joseph refuted the argument made by Fashanu that Meghan was being treated differently because of her mixed-race heritage and instead contrasted her approach to the job of being a professional royal with that of her sister in law, Kate Middleton.
‘The reality is that Kate is a very different person,” explained Joseph.
“She’s very quiet, she’s not trying to change the royal family, she’s not trying to do anything differently, she’s like William. She doesn’t like the publicity, she doesn’t like to be in the public eye.”
But she went on to argue that far from accepting the status quo, Meghan is driven by a determination to modernize the family she has married into.
“The reality is people admire Meghan because she’s trying to bring the Royal family into the 21st century,” she said.
“[Kate is] not breaking the rules in the same way as Meghan.”
Meghan is certainly no shrinking violet. Her strong opinions on issues like feminism, politics, and human rights are already well known. She is also a passionate animal lover and is believed to be the reason why her husband, Prince Harry, will not be taking part in the royal family’s annual Christmas hunt this year.
Her determination that the baby she is due to deliver next year should not grow up in a goldfish bowl is thought to have at least partly motivated the decision of the royal couple to move from Kensington Palace in central London to a lower profile property in Windsor.
It has been reported that Meghan has found it hard to keep a dignified silence in the face of the barrage of criticism that she has been receiving of late. This has included rumors of her being hard to work with, suggestions that staff has dubbed her “Duchess Difficult,” and reports of a rift between her and Kate.
But these rumors persist and along with regular unwanted interventions from her father and sister in the United States, it is hardly a surprise if Meghan should feel that something needs to change.
