This is the dumbest controversy ever, which means the British media is incandescent with rage over it. So, you know how Disney has done a live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, with Halle Bailey as Ariel? Well, people have obviously screened the movie or attended some of the various premieres. One of those early viewers mentioned that there’s a scene in the movie where Prince Eric is trying to guess Ariel’s name. Apparently, there’s a terrible INSULT to She Who Keens, the Princess of Wales. Stick around for the Telegraph’s frantic attempt to tie this to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Disney’s new version of The Little Mermaid features a scene that appears to mock the Princess of Wales. The film, released in cinemas next week, stars newcomer Halle Bailey as the mermaid, Ariel, who falls for a handsome prince and gives up her voice in order to be with him.
In the first meeting between Ariel and Prince Eric, he tries to guess her name. His first guess is “Diana”. His second guess is “Catherine”, the first name of the Princess of Wales.
At the mention of the latter, Ariel screws up her face. “Ok, definitely not Catherine,” Eric says.
The film already has a royal connection: the Duchess of Sussex drew parallels between herself and Ariel in her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey. She said: “It must have been years ago. I was sitting in Nottingham Cottage [the home she shared with the Duke of Sussex when they were first married] and The Little Mermaid came on. Now, who as an adult really watches The Little Mermaid? But it came on and I was like, ‘Well, I’m just here all the time, so I may as well watch this’. And I went, ‘Oh, my God! She falls in love with the prince and because of that, she has to lose her voice. But, by the end, she gets her voice back’.”
Winfrey asked: “And this is what happened here? You feel like you got your voice back?”
“Yeah,” the Duchess replied.
Disney also has links with the Duchess. She narrated a Disney+ nature documentary about elephants. Disney did not respond to requests for comment.
*whips out pie chart* DON’T YOU SEE THE CONNECTIONS?? The Sussexes were behind this downright mockery of England’s Jazz Handed Princess!! Disney, WME, Oprah, it’s all connected! There is a high-level conspiracy by Disney to mock Catherine! Honestly though, it’s a funny little joke, especially given that the British papers are truly the only ones calling her Catherine. Almost everyone in America calls her “Kate Middleton.”
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- The Princess of Wales visited Landau Forte College Derby on Wednesday 8th February with Captain Preet Chandi MBE to celebrate her return from her solo expedition across Antarctica. The Princess of Wales was Patron of Preet’s expedition, where Captain Chandi broke the world record for the furthest unsupported solo Polar expedition in history. Pushing the boundaries of human endeavor, Preet covered 922 miles in 70 days and 16 hours, skiing for 13-15 hours a day with as little as five hours sleep at times. Preet pulled all her kit and supplies on a sledge weighing around 120kg while battling temperatures of -30c and wind speeds of up to 60mph . Picture Arthur Edwards The Sun The Princess tries resistance training that Preet did to get fit for her trip,Image: 754844568, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: The Princess of Wales visits Landau Forte College Derby. The Princess of Wales joins world recording breaking Captain Preet Chandi on school visit to celebrate her expedition across Antarctica.The Princess of Wales was Patron of Preet’s expedition, where Captain Chandi broke the world record for the furthest unsupported solo Polar expedition in history. Pushing the boundaries of human endeavour, Preet covered 922 miles in 70 days and 16 hours, skiing for 13-15 hours a day with as little as five hours sleep at times. Preet pulled all her kit and supplies on a sledge weighing around 120kg while battling temperatures of -30c and wind speeds of up to 60mph ., Model Release: no, Credit line: Arthur Edwards / Avalon
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 19: Catherine, Princess of Wales, attends the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2023 at The Royal Festival Hall on February 19, 2023 in London, England. The Prince of Wales, President of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), and The Princess will attend the Awards ceremony before meeting category winners and EE Rising Star Award nominees.,Image: 757165111, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson / Avalon
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- Catherine, Princes of Wales visits the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team during their 2 day visit to Wales on April 27, 2023 in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. The Prince and Princes of Wales are visiting the country to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Central Beacons Mountain Rescue and to meet members of local communities,Image: 772384971, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Jules Annan / Avalon
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- Catherine, Princes of Wales visits the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team during their 2 day visit to Wales on April 27, 2023 in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. The Prince and Princes of Wales are visiting the country to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Central Beacons Mountain Rescue and to meet members of local communities,Image: 772384992, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Jules Annan / Avalon
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- Britain’s Kate, Princess of Wales, listens as she visits the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust and meets with some of the young people that the charity supports in Bath, England, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust is a youth development charity founded on the belief that every young person needs a champion. The organisation puts world class athletes shoulder to shoulder with young people to pass on their winning mindset and provide coaching and mentoring, helping those who are facing adversity to develop the skills and confidence they need to succeed in education, work and life.,Image: 776253314, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Kin Cheung / Avalon
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- Catherine – The Princess of Wales arrives for a visit at The Anna Freud Centre, London, England, UK on Thursday 18 May, 2023.,Image: 776917934, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
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- ‘The little Mermaid’ film premiere at Toreo Parque Central in Mexico City. Featuring: Javier Bardem and Halle Bailey Where: Mexico City, Mexico When: 11 May 2023 Credit: EyePix/INSTARimages
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- ‘The little Mermaid’ film premiere at Toreo Parque Central in Mexico City. Featuring: Halle Bailey Where: Mexico City, Mexico When: 11 May 2023 Credit: EyePix/INSTARimages
At first, when I read that headline, I was like, Meghan must be that Nene Leakes meme: “Now why am I in it?” But then when I read the article and the Diana and Catherine line, I was like, yeah, Disney went there, lol!
I totally think Disney did it on purpose but just not for the negative reasons the Tabs have made it out to be.
I think they went with recognizable princess names for the public.. Princess Diana and Princess Catherine.
Or simply the writters are like us and simply found a way to express themselves. Of course they will say it’s an accident but there is little chance that it’s happened. ^^
Toe-Allee-own Per-puss! in my fake bri’ish accent
#welldonedisney
Good Lord! My dog’s name is Katherine after Hepburn. Middle name Elizabeth after QEII. Women I admired. I definitely wouldn’t name her after this one.
It’s super intentional, and I LOVE IT.
I’m literally eating popcorn reading this dying laughing 🤣🤣🤣
Yup, I’m here for it.
The Brits act like Kate is a deity and mocking her is sacrilege. Maybe she should be kinder to Meghan in public. Give Meghan the fake smile. She can’t even accomplish that. I find that perplexing. It comes across as racism. I mean, this same Kate managed to smile at Donald Trump and his odious children over an hours-long dinner party. .
They use to mock her too, they only stopped when Meghan came along; don’t forget WAITY KATEY 😁
How entertaining!!! I might actually see this film. And, once again, they are unmatched at deploying the Streisand Effect — thus, handing promotion for Disney and the film that money can’t buy.
Hang on wasn’t Halle at the Boston earthflop event? What do they make of that?!?!
Omg. The fact that the actress has worked with Kate before makes it extra shady. Lol.
A lot of people in the usa don’t know who Kate is.
The british media wants any reason to trot out the royals. Any reason to write about them and America in the same article.
If the joke was -Camilla..Catherine- no one would get it. Thy had to reach back to the 80s to make the joke work even a little.
I feel like Americans know her as Kate Middleton.
The fact that they’ve changed how they reference her so many times has not been beneficial for her ( Cambridge, Catherine, Wales).
Meanwhile Meghan has always been Meghan so her name alone has recognition.
So true. Most everyone I know has no interest in the RF. They recognize Charles and they know the Diana story, but they’re all “that’s Camilla?” and “is that William or Andrew?” My favorite is “I didn’t know Elizabeth had a third son.”
This was me! I didn’t know who H and W were I mean couldn’t recognize them from pictures until I lived in North America. But, I didn’t know Prince Andrew was the brother of Charles, even after I lived in North America. I thought they had several princes or something. it was only while reading about Fergie/Di (both of whom I knew first) and found out they were sisters in law that it clicked that Andrew and Charles were brothers. That knowledge was solidified by the crown saying Andrew was the favourite and I never forgot it anymore (sometimes you acquire knowledge and you forget it a few times). I did not know about Edward until Meghan came into the BRF and I would read up so much more about them but wouldn’t remember his or his wife’s name if not for all the drama with Meghan (post leaving the BRF) who I always read up on.
I wished Disney had added those jazz hands, the goofy eyebrows and that manic grin.
It’s in the original animated movie too, isn’t it? I feel like I remember it.
I think the original has him guessing Diana and Rachel actually. Then maybe Mildred? Or something like that I can’t remember.
He tries to guess her name in the original, but I don’t remember him using either the name Diana or the name Catherine. I could be wrong though. I’ve only seen it once or twice.
In the original Eric guesses Mildred, Diana and Rachel
Oooooh yes, thank you!
Rachel is Meghan’s real first name. Hmm…
I bet they’ve just gone and picked today’s most common names for girls born in a set range of years. I mean, Prince Eric of 2023 would not be the prince he is to guess Mildred as a name choice given it’s no longer popular lol
While I love the petty, at the same time, Meghan really doesn’t engage that way. But apparently Disney does😂
Whoo. She looks rough in that cover pic! I don’t remember the animated film that came out when I was younger. Is that scene in it?
Pretty sure he guessed in the animated version, and for the life of me I can’t remember which names he choose. I’d Google it, but the results are flooded with “Disney insults Royal Family”
He guesses the names Mildred, Diana and Rachel in the original. As a kid I watched my old VHS copy so many times that it’s still burned in my brain lmao
I don’t see why she won’t go get a mini facelift. She’s Photoshopped and it’s 😢 to see how she really looks. Did y’all see the Photoshopped picture of Camilla for the coronation? They need to 🛑 and have several seats 💺. Even Charles pics was 😂
Remember for Pippa wedding the rota was clowning her for the lines in her forehead. That’s when Meg first arrived and she could only go to the reception. Didn’t Kate hurry up and get those lines out.
If she cuts her hair and have a professional come and gives her a proper makeup tutorial. Kate would look good 😊. She looks her best with short hair framing her face like when she was pregnant with Louis.
Her trying to keep up with Meghan is bringing into focus her lack of beauty, 😔 her lack of public speaking 😔, her lack of an ability to work and connect with the British people, her lack of having women friends outside of her Mom, sister and a paid assistant and stylist. Don’t let me continue 😭.
I think she HAS had mini face-lifts in the past, as well as botox, as well as photoshop. This is how she looked 5 years ago (getty image) https://www.pinterest.com/pin/75224256262905995/
It’s just that the facelifts and botox don’t last, and needs to be repeated periodically. The easiest is to control her image through photoshop, which is what I think she does — every single photo I could find, including the getty image, looks touched up. I suspect any non-doctored photos are scrubbed.
I’m not sure this is a dig. I mean, Disney just chose names of two princesses they thought people would know?
And if was a dig, Meg certainly had nothing to do with it.
How many times does Meg have to say “she’s a good person” to convince folks Meg has no beef with Kate? It’s vice versa.
How can you say Meghan had nothing to do with it when she narrated a Disney documentary 3 years ago?!?!!?!? The connection is CLEAR!!!!!!
lolololol for days.
Yes and it’s probably why Disney picked a black actress to play the part of Ariel because Meghan wanted to be a princess. Which has all the bigots upset here in the US. Meghan has so much control over Disney because she narrated an animated movie for them.
It’s not Meghan’s fault that Kate gives Evil Queen looks all the time.
When I saw that the bird was talking underwater, that did it for me on this dumb remake.
Good morning! Don’t let yourself get crabby over that; it’s a children’s fantasy story and they can make up any rules they want for what’s possible and what isn’t.
I’ll be showing my future grandkids the original instead of this mess.
It mocks her because the Princes is BLACK. And we know how Kate feels about Black Princesses. And leave it to Kate to make a story that was written…checks notes…in 1837 all about her. Like hun – did you think the first Little Mermaid was about you too?? Or just this one because she’s Black?
Exactly this. This is what it always comes back to with these people.
FTLOG they had a whole thing about him guessing her name in the animated movie. They need to get a grip.
Who saw this coming? All by itself Disney, of all entities, is bringing down both the Republican party and the British royals. I am so here for this. Go, Disney!
Yep, and just want to add “hey Khate, when a beautiful half fish of colour can’t stand you, you know you have been found out” 😂😂🐠🐠. GO DISNEY!!!
the UK media really thinks the royals are constantly on our minds in America.
I mean, I know the mail is slow, but we did send them a letter in 1776, telling them to fk off…
LOL LOL @diane. great comment
😂😂😂
Let’s resend it by email — at 5 am! They’ll get the message.
😂
Lolololol…good. If true she deserves all the digs and disses. Useless rat haired witch.
Omg @girl_ninja I snorted so hard!! “Useless rat-haired witch”!! Hahahaha.
She needs a dinglehopper for that wig.
What a pathetic joke, the world does not revolve around Khate. She is not relevant outside of the Uk because she does not do anything. Nobody knows who she is, unless they are told and nobody cares.
Tbh @Ales, as far as most regular British people are concerned, she’s not all that relevant in the UK either.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I do think this was intentional, in that Disney picked the name of two royals, but I think it would have been more intentional and more of a dig had the second name been Kate and not Catherine. Most Americans probably wouldn’t even pick it up with Kate, but they would be more likely than with Catherine.
I’m just laughing bc I wonder if anyone would have even noticed this had the british press not started writing whole articles about this.
Kate is a pretty common name in the US for woman across generations. I remember “Katie” being popular when I was naming my kids, but it’s kind of a perennial favorite. Catherine is used too, but it’s a bit less prominent than Kate.
“Kathy” was popular when I was growing up, but you don’t see it as much now. People seem to go for Kate or Katie, or just using the full name.
I mean I’m American, so I know its popular, lol.
My point was that I think most americans will only connect Kate with the royals, not Catherine, and as it is, most probably won’t even make that connection in this context. The Diana might trigger some to connect it, bc they’ll associate that with Princess Di, but even then like I said most won’t even pick up on it.
Except now the British press has told us all about it so of course I’m going to notice it, LOL.
@Annel, a little funny fact. My real life name is Katie, and I have a twin sister named Meghan. Nope, not joking! 😁
@L84Tea: What a coincidence!
She is Kate Middleton to most people in North America. No one calls her Catherine here unless they are derangers.
Hollywood writers are some of the pettiest bitches on this planet. I often do a double take at some of the stories/lines and can’t help but laugh at the subtle digs the writers get into the script.
So, yeah, I can believe a writer saw how Meghan was treated, saw the Oprah interview, and decided to show a little support for their fellow Hollywoodian by throwing in a dig at Kate. And kudos to them for doing it especially since the star of the movie is a young Black woman who has been on a similar end of racist attacks just for living her best life.
Also, obviously Meghan had nothing to do with it. For anyone to suggest she did means they have no idea of how Hollywood works nor do they know the first thing about writers.
Haaaaa. I think the Disney writers were a lil petty about her saying „What adult watches The Little Mermaid? “ . They clearly make their movies for kids AND adults, so that was a diss. Disney often include jokes that some kids would not get and there are so many socio-cultural references. It’s not the Teletubbies. She would have come across as very relatable if she had said „Who doesn’t love a Disney movie?”
Except Meghan said that, not Kate. and I don’t think it was a diss, especially before disney plus when it was hard to watch some of the older animated movies bc of their stupid vault.
@Becks 1 . My bad! I thought it was Kate but it was the Sussex Duch, now I am surprised they didn’t use her as a diss in the movie. I guess, then that Catherine move is EXTRA-petty.
The Los Angeles premiere was May 8, and NONE of the reviews from American critics released since then made a special note of which wrong names Eric guessed when trying to figure out Ariel’s name.
I think it’s another situation of certain people from the UK thinking they’re the center of the world and everything is about them.
that second pic of Kate “these are the hands I make when Sebastian sings”
You made me laugh out loud while my students are taking a test. I had a fake a coughing fit!
They look like the mechanical claw hands that you grab the prize with at those game booths.
That neck is doing a lot of work too. It’s odd that there’s so little flesh on her neck when her cheeks look so plumped up.
Dying. LOL
Hahaha! 😂
Lol…. the real dig is this recent Fail headline about Kate’s last event:
“Twice as nice! Kate’s $3,732 emerald Suzannah dress is a copy of a style she’d already worn – and it’s not the first time she’s bought the same outfit in two colours”
They are coming for her. Those knives are sharpening.
They are not coming for her. They have written worse headlines. This is just a normal daily fail headline and I’m sure the an article is filled with endless praise and embiggening.
I know people want the British media to turn on the Wales but it’s just not happening right now. They are still stuck on harassing Meghan and Harry!
Nah, I agree with Rapunzel. It’s been a slow burn (to me it started with some shady front page photo choices back in November), but things have been ramping up in the past 1-2 months. I’m not sure the media will ever be as critical of Kate as they were pre-Meghan, but there’s been an increase in sly digs disguised as praise. They’ve even started to make a point of highlighting Kate’s copying more often. Also, the way they’ve pumped out stories about the Middletons’ struggles with Party Pieces is notable. They would’ve firmly looked the other way a few years ago and glossed over the story as much as possible once the sale was complete.
They’re not coming for her. The press got nothing from the engagement so all they have to talk about is what she wore.
Didn’t The Telegraph used to be a reputable paper? The whole UK media seems to have sunk to the bottom.
I love it! I can see the connection and while I really do think it’s all accidental, I secretly hope it isn’t!
But Kate doesn’t go by Catherine either! You could decide to interpret this exchange in the movie as agreeing that the royals/ British media relabelling her as “Catherine” is silly and unecessary, and her real name is perfectly fine.
It’s a choice to say that the “scrunched up face” is a reaction to Kate personally. That’s a self own!
I don’t think the BM suddenly decided to start referring to Kate as Catherine, I think Kate decided that she wanted to be called Catherine. Or her advisors told her she should go by Catherine, or something. Basically I think the directive to start referring to her by her full first name, came FROM the palaces.
Also, I saw some video a while back in which Kate introduced herself to a child as “Catherine.” So she IS trying to go by Catherine.
She was kate in the British media for years and then at the engagement William was calling her Catherine and wanted everyone else to do the same. It never stuck except in formal documents.
I like how they presume people equate Kate Middleton with the name Catherine. Mostly in the UK and only a portion there (thanks df for continuing to call her Kate).
BTW, I don’t blame anyone online for calling her Kate Middleton, too bad she spent approx. 30 years as Kate Middleton and that is where they will get their clicks. I do love the derangers losing their minds over it each and every time though.
The media call her Kate – William and her family call her Catherine, I remember reading about that at the time of their wedding.
The UK premiere of the Little Mermaid was May 15th. Kate was a no show. It would have been a perfect PR move for KP if she went with Charlotte. The Waleses love to go to movie premieres, see the last Bond movie and Top Gun Maverick. Perhaps Disney didn’t want a royal appearance? I thik this supposed slight is being used as an excuse for no Kate appearance. Great way to try to tank UK box office receipts.
Why would Kate or her child be invited to The Little Mermaid premiere?
Everyone knows Kate is a stumbling bumbling idiot with zero substance and intellectual prowess. Why would anyone want their child to immolate this substance less woman. These folks are looking for any words or actions which showcases her idiocy out loud because they try to keep it hidden.
Great typo! Love that “immolate”. AutoCorrect strikes again.
This is a Christmas present.
Are they saying that Disney mean girled the mean girl? Poor sausage that’s twice in one week that she has been the target of her own tactics.
It’s so interesting how they didn’t include that Halle performed at the Earthshot vanity event with her sister Chloe.
https://youtu.be/QXEyhJJAO8E
HAHAHAHA. This is the funniest story I’ve read today. I did not expect to LAUGH OUT LOUD at this article.
Yeah it’s probably a little dig at Kate. To be so salty about it though! The British media assumed Meghan and Harry were distraught about that southpark episode and this is way way way less offensive. Like not at all offensive.
Thin skin much?
Also, that’s funny. Makes me want to watch this movie even more.
The UK press need to lighten up and get a sense of humor. Is the name Meghan in the movie? No? Then leave her out if it. This has nothing to do with Meghan, she has nothing to do with the remake or Disney, and she certainly isn’t earning anything from this. They are so obsessed with Meghan and trying to link Kate to her. This really is just the most pathetic case of name dropping ever.
This is about clicks plain and simple. It’s been said on here many times that Meghan is the most googled royal. Only the Queen eclipsed her the year she died.
What that means is linking Meghan to any royal story is profitable for them because it pops up in google searches. Even if the article has nothing to do with her they know someone will click because Meghans name is on it.
Where did this even come from? Is this another twitter outrage that the press picked up as news? I can’t imagine a Telegraph reporter sitting through The Little Mermaid and thinking, “this is a diss against Kate.”
If they really wanted to go with popular names for girls, wouldn’t it be something like Emma, Ava, Olivia? Diana isn’t even in the top 20. Diana and Catherine were definitely a choice lol! I’m just so glad they didn’t go with Megan/Meghan/the many ways to spell it!
I would love to see Meghan and Harry release photos of Lilibet having a “Little Mermaid” birthday party …
Unfortunately, they’re not petty LOL.
Aw that would be kind of cute. And Meghan’s already spoken about the little mermaid and finding a voice so it wouldn’t be petty.
It’s laughable that they assume that Americans care so much about Kate. Sure Jan, sure……
I have been low-keying hoping Meghan would be at the Little Mermaid premiere! Because of what she said on Oprah, her connection with Disney+, and also support for Halle, both being mixed race. But she hasn’t really done a red carpet since Lion King, and now, after what happened with the paparazzi this week, I’m not so sure.
Also, I’m pretty sure this is a dig at Kate (it’s hilarious tho bc literally no one calls her Catherine lol except herself and Will), and I absolutely am here for it.
The connection is tenuous at best, but if Disney is trolling, honestly, good for them.
Well, Kate could pass for an evil sea hag, but not one as awesome and with the pipes Ursula has.
These people are so unserious. This is what they do with their day? Look for ways to be offended? Fine, take to your bed over it and shut up.
Yeah, this would be more plausible if Prince Eric had said Kate instead of Catherine. But it is interesting that the British press were offended on Kate’s behalf. Probably because they know that Kate really has no voice and says nothing of substance.
Hahaha! Pure comedy! Who knew that some of the RRs also moonlight as comedians? This could become a second career bc the boring Leftover Royals are really nothing exciting to write about.
I am intrigued by the picture where she is wearing a red jacket and you can clearly see the wiglet edges at her temples.
She deserves 100 fold criticism and so does her husband. They have no standing to be so coddled, pampered in put in bubble wrap. Do your damn jobs already!
Eurydice, your comment makes me think that the BRF has at least one unit of media patrol who go through America’s popular culture with a fine-toothed comb to look for digs and praise against/for Kate, Will, Meghan and Harry. The will be outraged for Kate and Will for “disrespect” and declare America loves the Wailses for the faintest praise. For Harry and Meghan, they will use “disrespect” for the couple to prove America hates them and the faintest praise will be distorted/ignored/hated on as “woke” approval.
Anything to keep this woman’s name in the press. Kate has to understand that her enablers are doing her no favours. She has to seek help for her need for attention, they know what she needs and am trying to give it to her.
It is time that she examine her emotions, and accept that she is not a victim. She should not let outside stimuli influence her feelings towards Meghan.
She may feel better if she accept who she is and stop trying to be a better version of Meghan. That would send a clear signal to the horrible media……that perpetuates this nonsense.
I know I’ve repeated this a variety of times , but For these people who are supposedly condescending on anything American they seem to care too much of what we think or not think.. lol…
I have to admit I think one or a couple of the Disney animators/ script writers did have a dig on Kate 😀.