In theirNetflix documentary, Prince Harry talks repeatedly about his worry for his wife Meghan Markle - specifically the 'pain and suffering' of the women who 'marry into this family' claiming it's almost treated like a 'rite of passage' within the Royal Family.
You might question exactly what one who marries into the UK’s monarchy might find. Fame, tradition, and a hefty jewellery collection perhaps?
But one thing new royals aren't prepared for is the relentless storm of criticism that blows their way.
With Harry & Meghan streaming now, debates around the unfair media frenzy that Meghan faced are swirling. From critiques on her walk to questions over her baby bump, the Duchess finds herself in the firing line with almost every headline that hits the page.
But Meghan isn’t the first royal woman to find herself taking up the role of the media’s next big joke. In fact, the Duchess of Sussex is one of a long line of women who find themselves in the firing line for cruel taunts and mean jests – and she certainly won’t be the last...
'Waity Katey' Middleton
In the early days of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s relationship, the young woman was portrayed by tabloids as scheming, cunning, and manipulative – a storyline which only really gave way to praise once Meghan entered the picture.
Kate and her sister, Pippa, found themselves nicknamed the ‘Wisteria Sisters,’ following claims they were desperate social climbers. Rumours swirled over Kate’s ‘pushy’ parents, with headlines such as ‘Did Kate’s Pushy Mother Send Her Hunting A Prince’. The press branded her ‘Waity Katey’ over whispers she was hanging around for the young Prince to make up his mind, with one paper writing ‘The Middleclass Girl Who Shared William’s Life (But NOT His Bedroom.)’
In her book The Palace Papers, Tina Brown wrote, ‘As she walked through Paddington Station or an airport, barbaric photographers yelled ‘Bitch,’ ‘whore,’ ‘slag, look this way’ to try and get a rise out of her.’ It doesn't go unnoticed that these are insults reserved only for women...
But whilst marrying William may have shaked off her ‘Waity Katey’ reputation, it’s far from an easy ride for the Duchess. And as time passes, a whole new set of insults are thrown her way - with one headline branding her ‘greying hair a disaster.'
'Silly Girl' Sophie Wessex
Another woman who found herself gaining much more than a title when she married into the Royal Family was Sophie Wessex - and when she first started dating Prince Edward in the early 90’s, the media went mad.
The media speculated over her ‘fake’ hair and ‘rubbish’ singing voice, with one headline reading ‘Do Not Confuse This Silly Girl With A Real Royal.’
In fact, the frenzy reached such a level that Edward himself wrote an open letter to the press, saying ‘I am taking this unusual step of writing to you directly in the hope of stopping your reporters and photographers from destroying that part of my life that I am entitled to regard as private - and more importantly, Sophie’s life.’
But her marriage to Edward didn't dull the media storm. Just weeks before her wedding in 1999, The Sun published a topless photograph of Sophie with her Capital Radio colleague, Christ Tarrant. The picture had been snapped over 10 years earlier, on a 1988 business trip with Chris and co-presenter Kara Noble – with Kara reportedly paid a whopping £40,000 for the morally challenging task of selling out her once close friend.
And it wasn’t the only time people went out of their way to catch Sophie out. In 2001, the Duchess went to a suite at the ever-so-fancy Dorchester Hotel to share some bubbly and discuss business with an Arab Sheik. What Sophie didn’t know was that the Sheik was not actually a Sheik – he was an undercover reporter with a hidden tape reporter, dispatched by the News of the World to get the goss. Reports suggest that Sophie dished dirt on the late Queen, her children, and the then Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Sarah Ferguson's Body Shaming
During a 2021 interview with French magazine Madame Figaro, Sarah Ferguson said that she was ‘maybe the most persecuted woman in the history of the royal family.’ Whilst it’s a bold claim to make with many contenders over the years, it’s easy to see why the Duchess of York feels this way.
Fergie – a former Weight Watchers ambassador – has opened up many times about her struggles with an eating disorder. Nicknamed the ‘Duchess of Pork’ and ‘Fat Fergie’ after she gained weight following her pregnancies and binge eating, the royal has admitted the attention was ‘soul destroying.’
In fact, one newspaper went so far as to run a poll called ‘Would You Rather Have Sex With Fergie or A Goat’ – with over half the votes going to the goat.
Whilst the public chuckled over the jibes, perhaps thinking the Duchess would never read the cruel comments, Fergie was left to cope with it all. ‘One of the worst headlines said that 82 per cent of people would rather sleep with a goat than Fergie,’ she said, adding ‘it’s never left me.’
The most 'hunted' Princess
It’s clear as day that women who marry into the royal family find themselves held to a standard so high that they’re doomed to fail – and as with Princess Diana, the media witch hunt can go too far...
At her eulogy, Princess Diana’s younger brother Charles shared how his sister ‘talked endlessly’ of leaving Britain after her divorce from Prince Charles, ‘mainly because of the treatment she received at the hands of the newspapers.’ Branded the People’s Princess, she soon found herself ‘the most hunted person of the modern age.’
Diana’s relationship with the press was tumultuous at best, involving concealed cameras and off-the-record chats made public. But it all ended on the 31st of August, 1997 – when she was killed in a car crash alongside her partner Dodi Al-Fayed and their chauffer. It was said that the car crashed following a dramatic paparazzi chase, and as such, the world were quick to blame the media for the loss of their Princess.
In an ironic turn of events, the media mourned too. After Diana’s death, the tone switched from damning her to placing her on a pedestal – showing that perhaps a tragedy such as hers was the only way in which the world could step back and look at the person behind the headlines.
If it’s sounding all too familiar, that’s because it is. In a tale as old as time, the same stereotypes have been passed down from woman to woman – with critiques and cross-examinations passed onto each new woman who marries into the family.
And from Princess Diana to Meghan Markle, not much has changed. But in light of the new documentary – and the world finally standing up against the relentless pursuit of women who did nothing other than fall in love – there’s more discussion than ever before.
Meghan might not be the first name on the list of royal women treated badly, but there’s hope that she’ll be the last.