Meghan’s Podcast Reveals Hard Truth
New Story from Royal Tour Shows She’s Not Made for Public Life
New Story from Royal Tour Shows She’s Not Made for Public Life
After Harry and Meghan’s spectacular Royal exit, The Queen famously spoke of “the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service.” The couple seemed to bristle, responding, “we can all live a life of service.”
But service, and serving the public, are two different things. And after hearing Meghan Markle’s new podcast, it’s clear The Queen was right. Again. Public service, on a global stage, is unique, and usually requires personal sacrifice.
On the podcast debut, Meghan shared a previously unheard anecdote that was a bit astonishing. First, it seems to clearly confirm, that much of the anger from Harry and Meghan (and their supporters) stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of the role and purpose of the Royal Family. (That’s unfortunate, as it’s an easy fix.)
Meghan recounts a moment from their 2019 Royal Tour, and a stop in South Africa, when she says a small heater fire started in an empty bedroom that was to be briefly used for their son, Archie.
If you haven’t heard it, Meghan says they left Archie at a house with his nanny as they headed for an engagement, and the nanny planned to put him down for a nap. The nanny decided to take Archie for a snack first, and when she got back to the room, according to Meghan, “the heater in the nursery had caught on fire.”
Meghan says they were notified in the car, and rushed back to the house, saying, “Everyone’s in tears, everyone’s shaken. And what do we have to do? Go out and do another official engagement. ‘I said, ‘this doesn’t make any sense. Can you just tell people what happened?’ And I think the focus ends up being on how it looks instead of how it feels… We had to leave our baby.”
To be clear, I’ve no doubt it was a frightening experience, especially for a new mother, hearing “fire in the nursery” as you’re an hour away. But once you arrive and see it was (apparently) a small heater fire, in an empty room, and everyone is just fine, cooler heads generally prevail. No one was hurt, the situation was handled promptly, and the baby is safe with nanny. Life goes on.
What’s remarkable about the anecdote is Meghan’s first response, “Can’t you tell people what happened?” That shows a troubling lack of understanding of not just her Royal role, but ANY public role. The instinct of most public figures is to contain irrelevant personal information, not put it in a news release. Especially when it’s not something that helps the public, or that they need to know.
As a public figure, the first rule is that it’s not about YOU. You’re there to bring attention to OTHERS.
This nursery “news” would have made a brief moment of Meghan’s day the focus of the tour. Imagine the media coverage if that announcement had been made. The exploding headlines, “Meghan cancels event after heater fire in Archie’s nursery.” That would have overwhelmed everything, and everyone else, on the tour. All that planning and money wasted. The Royals, and their staff, know how unfair that would have been to the host country.
Imagine, if, after engagements meant to bring attention to incredibly worthwhile charities, the coverage instead was, “Harry asked about Archie Fire!” Or endless speculative news articles, “Did South Africa put Archie’s Life in Danger?!”
A public relations nightmare, an insult to your hosts, and a quick end to the entire diplomatic purpose of the tour. That may not be fair, but it is reality.
Here are a few of the causes their Royal tour showcased, that would have been completely overshadowed:
A workshop for children that educates them about “rights, self-awareness, and safety,” and also teaches young girls self-defence skills with a focus on empowerment.
District Six Museum, which honours a community forcibly relocated during apartheid.
Waves for Change, a charity that works with local surfers to provide mental health support for youth.
Lunchbox Fund, which provides daily meals for South African schoolchildren.
Mothers2Mothers, a charity that trains and employs women living with HIV as community health workers.
HALO Trust de-mining camp.
As Princess Diana famously said, “I have all these cameras following me, let’s take them places where they can highlight problems.”
That is the entire point of any Royal Tour, and even a Royal engagement.
As anyone from Michelle Obama to The Queen will tell you, once you assume a role with an obligation to the public, sometimes you really do have to, “Keep Calm and Carry On.”
Everyone you meet has something going on in their lives, and on Royal Tours, there are often stories and scenes of REAL catastrophes, not minor near misses that had a happy ending.
The point of holding a public role is to hear about those challenges, those people and their struggles, and to bring as much attention and aid to them as your position allows.
There’s been speculation (nonsense in my personal opinion) that Meghan wants a political future, even to run for President of the United States. To be clear, she will not succeed as a Princess or a President, if she can’t understand the fundamental rule of being a public figure.
It’s not about you.