Whether you love her or not, there is no denying that Meghan Markle is the name on many royal-watchers’ lips lately. While some of that may just be on our feeds after the announcement about our new site, Meghan’s Mirror, we have noticed that most of it comes in the form of gossipy, speculative news stories about Meghan and Harry – or Meghan and Kate – that led one WWKD reader to reach out with her take on the “Meghan versus Kate” debate.
We were thrilled when we heard from Teri Wilson, author of The Princess Problem and Royally Roma. Teri Wilson is a romance novelist for Harlequin Books and Gallery/Pocket Star. She is also a contributing writer at HelloGiggles, a lifestyle and entertainment website founded by Zooey Deschanel and now a division of People Magazine. Teri is the author of UNLEASHING MR. DARCY, now a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. She’s currently working on a new series of books set at a Tiffany-esque jewelry store, as well as a trilogy of royal romances, both slated to debut in 2017.
Here are Teri’s thoughts on Meghan and Kate… And you’ll see why her response is not only what Kate would do, but what we all should do as well.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry aren’t even engaged yet (please let this happen!) and already it’s starting—the comparisons between Meghan and the Duchess of Cambridge. I’m not talking about the fun articles that speculate on why they should be royal BFFs or the ones that show us pictures of all the times the two of them wore similar outfits. Those types of stories are just fun ways for us to celebrate our love for the British royals and emphasize how much we’d love it if Meghan and Prince Harry tied the knot. They’re harmless.
But lately I’ve been seeing more and more stories with a distinctly negative vibe, stories that seem to believe Meghan and Kate are competing with one another. Who’s more popular, Meghan or Kate? Which is bigger, the Meghan Effect or the Kate Effect? Is Kate jealous of all the attention Meghan is getting from the press?
First of all, this is just ridiculous. The Duchess of Cambridge is the future Queen of England. She’s married to Prince William, is the mom of two completely adorable toddlers (one of whom is the heir to the throne) and totally rocks at her royal duties. She’s been nothing but gracious for all the years she’s been in the public eye. I highly doubt she’s sitting inside her gorgeous drawing room in Kensington Palace obsessing over who gets mentioned more in the media. More importantly, as an advocate for mental health, Kate has spoken out against bullying many times. And let’s face it, that’s exactly what these kind of stories are—bullying.
It doesn’t matter which one of them is more popular. There’s certainly room for two princesses in Kensington Palace. After all, there are two princes. As a lifelong Anglophile and royal enthusiast, I’ve followed the Windsors for a long time. And I don’t ever recall seeing articles pitting William and Harry against one another or insisting that one of them was jealous of the other’s press coverage. Which honestly makes the recent dark comparisons between Meghan and Kate seem pretty sexist.
When Prince Harry released a statement last November calling for an end to the harassment Meghan Markle was facing from internet trolls and certain members of the media, he specifically mentioned the sexist undertones of some of the articles and social media comments. We doubt he’s a fan of the whole Team Meghan vs. Team Kate situation that seems to be gaining momentum. And neither are we.
Meghan Markle is beautiful and stylish, obviously. She’s also an amazing actress, director, writer, editor and humanitarian. As a Global Ambassador for World Vision, she crisscrosses the globe doing things like standing up for the rights of women and young girls and bringing clean water to Africa. Do we think she’d make a great princess? Absolutely. (And we LOVE the idea of an American in a tiara!)
I like to think that Kate is just as excited about a possible royal engagement as we are. Why not assume that Meghan and Kate would be great friends, raiding one another’s closets and binge-watching The Crown together? I could definitely see it.
Meghan’s quote on her profile page at World Vision says, “Do one act of kindness every day. It doesn’t need to be big. It just needs to be something.” Today, maybe that something should be recognizing that no one needs to choose between these two smart, capable women. We can embrace them both.
We hope you enjoyed this guest post, and be sure to visit Teri on Twitter and take a peek at her royally-inspired romance novels!
Pictures of Meghan & Kate are via Vanity Fair, other non-credited are via Teri Wilson.
What a great article, we can all learn something from BOTH of these amazing women!
Super article, Teri!! I LOVE reading about both of these fantastic role models for women!! I’m really hoping Meghan & Harry have a long future together, & will provide Kate & William with support and an added FUN quotient to many endeavors together!! ❤❤
I feel I would be happy when it is confirmed on a new royal engagement but only when it is confirmed. I also hope that this Megan vs the duchess of Cambridge debate should stop. They can close friend while the duchess can teach Megan the ropes on royal life the way she knows and learns as she goes towards the future. I helps to learn all the time no matter the situation, especially in your royal engagements, and the duchess is learning a lot and I hope the queen takes more how she help Catherine in 2012 when Prince William was not with her, they will be willing to help Megan as well , since they are close in age , which helps.
Oooh I hope there will be good news for every one in the royal family.
Thank you