Dr. Tessa Dunlop is a British historian who offers commentary and analysis on the royals and the state of the monarchy from a historical perspective. While I often disagree with some of her commentary, I appreciate the fact that she’s not parroting palace talking points or spinning bonkers royalist fan-fic. Dunlop was on a tear last year, writing several “brutal” pieces about how the wheels had come off the Good Ship Windsor. Dunlop said outright that Prince William and Kate were reluctant and lazy, that Britons should admit that they truly miss charismatic Prince Harry and wish that he would come back; and that William, Kate, Charles and Camilla are four of the least glamorous people in the world. As I said, Dunlop was dropping truth bombs all year. Let’s see if she still has some ammo left – Dunlop addressed the UK’s reaction to With Love, Meghan and uncovered the uncomfortable truth that Britain desperately wants Meghan to fail but that Meghan is winning.
Meghan Markle is sending a painful message with her latest move off the back of her panned Netflix series, an expert has claimed. This month she has seen lifestyle show With Love, Meghan, hit the streamer’s top 10 chart – despite the fact it has been savaged by the critics. Not only that, it has been announced that the show will also be returning for a second series later this year. Then came the news that the Duchess of Sussex is also launching her new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, which will see her have “candid conversations” with “amazing women” about the success and struggles of their businesses.
According to royal expert and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop, despite the brutal criticism Meghan has faced, she has had the last laugh. She told the Mirror: “How the world has loved to hate on Meghan for her serialised version of perfection – With Love Meghan. It has even inspired a new verb – to hate-watch. The Duchess of Sussex has become the catch-all for our own feelings of inadequacy and jealousy.”
“How. Dare. She, sighs millions of viewers, before settling down to another episode of yet more hate-watching. There is something deliciously ironic about the fact that Meghan has devised a creative strategy (including an Instagram account with 2.5million followers) that weaponises all those haters and turns their clicks into profits. Well done her. Cue a giant algorithm that has brought the Duchess international success and abundant wealth. Despite (or perhaps because of) the dismal reviews and universal loathing, With Love Meghan sits proudly in Netflix’s global top ten. Not bad for a one-time bit-part actress in a B-list series called Suits. A second With Love, Meghan series has already been commissioned and filmed. More perfection is in the pipeline. And the beginning of April will see the launch of another podcast series – Confessions of a Female Founder with Meghan.”
And Tessa adds that with all these projects in the pipeline, Meghan is sending a very telling message – especially to the royals. She added: “Lest the haters are in any doubt as to the company they keep – it was US President Donald Trump who announced he will leave Harry alone during his beleaguered American visa application because ‘he’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible’.
“As for viewers back in Britain, Meghan’s media triumph will be a bitter pill for some to swallow. Secretly too many of us wanted Meghan to fail: she stole our prince and dissed our first family and ran away with titles and tittle-tattle to the States where she has made a go of it. Proof that there really is life after the Royal Family.”
This is Dunlop doing the “spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.” She throws some red meat at the haters – “a one-time bit-part actress in a B-list series called Suits” – all to acknowledge that those haters, consumed by feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, envy and bitterness have been rooting for Meghan to fail, for no other reason than Harry chose her over them. “Secretly too many of us wanted Meghan to fail” – it wasn’t a secret, Dr. Dunlop. And Meghan was a working, highly-paid actress on a popular cable show. It’s not just that they “secretly” want Meghan to fail, they want to rewrite her entire biography so that her accomplishments, education and career are forgotten. This is what terrifies the Windsors too: “Proof that there really is life after the Royal Family.”
Photos courtesy of Netflix.
I only read the headline and I have one word: FINALLY
Totally!
Harry didn’t want to marry any if you haters! 😂 A successful life after the royal family is possible and in this case Meg’s determination certainly made it possible, along with their love and team work.
@stilldutchess I wish I could upvote this!
Well, you don’t have to be a doctor to figure that out 🥱 any one of us here could have written that for Dr Dunlop 🤩
There is a BETTER life away from the Royal family….fixed it for her.
Life is glorious and beautiful away from that awful island and those racist rellies! Sunny, joyful and fabulous, Meghan’s Montecito life is everything and more than Brits could even imagine. No wonder the bitterness, the jealousy and the envy. No more dank, smelly old cottages and dull, boring cosplaying waving events. H&M live a real impactful, fun and interesting life filled with good friends and easy luxury we all wish for ourselves. Did anyone doubt that the bitter uglies would be hoping she failed. They have been underestimating this intelligent. talented. hard working. genuine woman for almost a decade. I just love their stupidity and pettiness, the world hates bullies and have chosen to side with the charismatic couple over the dull, dry toast leftover hasbeens.
Yes, finally the absolute truth has been written. I still don’t understand why Brits can’t be happy for Diana’s son? He’s found a woman who adores him, loves him enough to put up with (far longer than she should’ve had to) the cruelty of both his family and the country’s press AND makes her own money. So, Brits are only happy if everyone is as miserable as they are?
Bear in mind the vast, vast majority of Brits simply never think about royals one way or the other except maybe as random celeb gossip. (Which is why gossip forums online dedicated to discussing British royals are largely dominated by American posters.) Most Brits are positive or neutral towards Meghan. The tiny handful of voices you hear trying to earn money by slagging off Meghan are the the British equivalent of Fox News commentators.
Thinking that these people represent British people is like thinking Joe Rogan and Ann Coulter represent American people. I’m sure most people on this site would be appalled to read “why do Americans worship Trump.” Except factually, a pretty high percentage of Americans ARE MAGA (you guys did elect him, twice!) whereas the percentage of Brits who read the Daily Mail and hate Meghan is really tiny.
There is real life in spite of the royal family. The royal family is not the BE-ALL AND END-ALL and that is their bitter pill.
As for this persons jabs at Meghan being a b-list actress blah, blah, blah, she is also a hard working, SMART working, brilliant woman who is still the only self made millionaire of the royal family. Period.
They don’t like all of the above because their future queen is Kate Doolittle 😃
1. The world did not love to hate Meghan. It was a group of people who had the platform, power and influence to spread a lot of hate through a compromised media and propaganda machine conveniently using her to deflect from the failings of other family members and the government.
2. This same group wanted her to fail badly. The world thought otherwise. As she recited in that poem, they sought to bury her but she was a seed and grew.
3. She did not steal the prince. The prince went willingly with her.
4. She did not diss the royal family. She objected to the grey men who continue to pull the strings of the family and interfere in their relationships.
5. She continues to live peacefully under a tree.
6. Britain needs to get rid of the monarchy or at least break the bonds between the tabloids and the House of Windsor to guarantee this institution’s survival and relevance for the rest of the century.
THIS. I guess I have a different reading of this ‘positive’ article. She seems to be implying that the only reason WLM is popular is because it’s being hate-watched (also: get a bloody grip – that phrase was out there long ago). A lot of us are watching it because it is a fun, soothing, happy show that brings a bit of colour and joy to our day. Maybe try that some time, Saltines.
They will never be able to admit that alot of people simply like Meghan. They have to explain away all of her success to make it make sense to their readers who are so conditioned by their hate. Meghan had fans before she met Harry and added lots after she met him (like me!!). She’s still adding new fans with every venture. Are people hate-buying Le creuset and edible flowers? Are people hate-googling beekeeping and montecito hotels lol. They are so unserious.
I saw some comments from people who read the snarky, negative reviews and gave a watch to see it for themselves and got shocked how positive and lovely the show was. They expected a horribly out-of-touch show to laugh at and just enjoyed it. So, the negative reviews didn’t even discourage people from watching the show.
Yes, was just commenting the same thing! Some people simply like her. Which considering all of the smearing committed against her over the past how many years says a lot.
No, Dunlop, it wasn’t that she “…stole our prince and dissed our first family and ran away with titles …” she had to flee for god’s sake. Get it right!
“Dissed our first family” — no, they dissed HER by lying about her to the press and never defending her from media lies, forcing her into a position where she had to set the record straight. They always leave out that first part, that extremely avoidable thing that actually caused the problem to begin with.
Please. That first family dissed their own selves with all the Diana killing, tampon cosplaying, dad dancing, slumlording and tax dodging.
Yes Lover. She didn’t diss them. She just called out their bad behavior, which was planting lies about her in the press. Which they did. Along with what gabby said😂
I read the part about stealing the prince and such as being a little TIC. I mean that’s certainly how a certain part of the British population seems to think – that she stole Harry (like he was going to marry them instead??) and kidnapped him to the US. That’s obviously not what happened. But when you read comments about “why” people hate Meghan so much, its always “she stole Harry” or “she changed him” or “she criticized the royal family” etc. Sometimes they’ll come out and say its bc she’s an American but no mention of race, just phrases like “she didn’t know here place.”
So I think Dunlop is playing into that in a TIC way. I read it with a bit of snark.
She likes her little quips. After all she is the one who said Sophie is a ford fiesta to Meghan’s Lamborghini.
@nick919
Wasn’t it Kate Williams who originated the comparison of Meghan and Sophie- a Lamborghini to a Ford Fiesta?
@Nic919
No she was not the one who coined that expression.
7. To “hate-watch has been a thing for decades, going back at least to the Mighty Big TV / Television Without Pity days, and I suspect even further back as well.
It was not coined in 2025 about Meghan’s show by the stale saltines and their batshit flying monkeys.
THANK YOU!!!
I’ve been hate watching things for years!!!!
I agree with all your points blogger. Except I would modify point 3.
Meghan did not steal Harry. She rescued him from a life of abuse and disrespect.
Because of Meghan he was able to see there was an actual way forward that could lead to freedom. And ultimately that led to happiness and safety for their little family.
That’s fine – rescue, their great escape. The possession these people show on Harry as if THEY own him just because he was part of Chuck’s unlucky sperm club.
The level of ownership is incredible. I know Harry discussed this that he was like part of The Truman Show but they really like dehumanise the Sussexes.
100%!
Well said!
.
“a one-time bit-part actress in a B-list series called Suits”
Before Suits LA premiered, Aaron Korsh didn’t name-drop Meghan if he could dance around it. Not in a malicious way, but just to avoid controversy.
But, in recent interview(s), he’s mentioned that, why yes, it’s possible that Mike Ross and Rachel Zane could pop up in Suits LA – or words to that effect.
Suits LA isn’t doing badly but could definitely do with the Meghan Effect.
Meghan isn’t going back to acting, she’s said that unequivocally. She doesn’t need suits la, even if they could do with her.
Totally agree. Meghan’s moved on to her era of joy.
Wasn’t Meghan one of the leads? How is it a bit part?
ensemble show. A female historian should know better than minimizing the work of a successful woman–Meghan succeeded where 99% of aspiring actors have failed. A many years role on an ensemble show is hitting the jackpot in Hollywood terms. I hate the way the British have minimized her career. This is just another white woman throwing a begrudging nod in Meghan’s direction and thinking Meghan should be grateful. She’s got some serious biases she needs to be aware of.
Agree so much lanne. Meghan was on a successful show that gave her security and health care for years. It’s nothing to be scoffed at or belittled.
Likely she hate-watched only the first episode of Suits and was incandescent because there wasn’t enough Meghan in it.
The BRF don’t want Harry back, it is just the British Media, that want him back, so they can get leaks from Courtiers and the BRF.
Mean while Harry is in his backyard barefoot, watching Archie picking strawberries.
They absolutely want him back hence the 7 plus years bullying campaign against Meghan. It’s been said for decades that willy NEEDS Harry. No other monarch (well the two recently) have ‘needed’ a sibling. It’s because William is a charisma free, very dumb, rageaholic who drinks too much and can’t control himself. His iq must be in the negative given things that he actually says
Well, Willie can’t have his toy brother back because he really fucking hates Meghan and Harry loves his wife.
As long as Willie thinks Harry’s subordinate to him, Harry’s best to stay where he is.
I do not think they want him back either, I think they want to Break Him Back and torture his life for daring to step out of the life they had PLANNED for him; a life to take all the heat, do all the work, give all his information under the guise of the monarchy being transparent, and then watch him suffer resulting in them looking better…see Queen and her sister Marg….
Yes, when Margaret went to Hollywood she was adored which caused concern.
I suspect they’re putting plans in place to ensure Charlotte doesn’t overshadow George.
Reminds me of Louis XIV and his brother, how their mother tried so very hard to ensure the spares didn’t overshadow the heir.
I think part of wanting to break Harry (and Meghan) is also that the comparisons between the two couples really reflect badly on W&K and will only get worse as the years go on. It will always be the tale of two princes and their wives. One couple is deeply in love and visibly adore each other, one couple is equally comfortable giving speeches in front of thousands of people and at the same time can hang out with anyone and make it look easy and fun, one is doing impactful work etc. And then the other couple is W&K who are the opposite of all of that.
I think that Charlotte will happily play second fiddle to George, but I can see Louis doing a Harry and getting out of it.
I hope so but I honestly doubt it. The press have been inventing narratives around the Cambridge children literally since they were toddlers. I can’t count how many hundreds of articles and headlines I’ve read portraying George as preternaturally wise and mature, and Charlotte and Louis as being wild and naughty. They’re just following the age old script.
I would absolutely bet money that by the time Charlotte is 18, the tabloids will have pearl clutching headlines about her partying and drinking and dating inappropriate men, and how worried lovely intelligent empathetic wise George is about her. Will and Kate won’t lift a finger to stop it. Because that’s the deal Kate signed when she pursued him, your oldest child becomes Monarch, and your younger kids get sold to the tabloids and exist purely to make them look good.
I agree with this. Charles, Cam, Will and maybe even Kate would be happy to never see Harrys face again. The British public also doesn’t want him back because they like their royals dull. The British media, however, miss him. They still write nonstop stories about him and Meghan.
W&k want him back, divorced from meghan,and never seeing their children again.
Bill wants him back, crushed under his heel, beholden to him for the crusts of bread on his table.
Harrys mandatory lifelong job, in Billy the bashers mind, is to to take all the tabloid heat off william, do all the work,and get none of the credit.
Hm. While a lot of this is true, it’s still wrapped in too many tabloid narratives for me to really feel like this was a genuine takedown. Meghan didn’t steal anything nor did she diss anyone. She left a country and a job with her husband who was an autonomous individual, and spoke about her own personal experience within those parameters.
She does have a point though that a lot of these people don’t see the Royal Family as individuals with their own wants and desires. They treat them like they’re writing fanfic about characters, and if they step out of line they need to be punished. Not even just Harry, they write about how Beatrice and Eugenie and Louise and James needs to step up or will have to be working royals with no concern about what they may actually want out of life.
They try to pretend it’s about the fact that they get taxpayer money, but they act the same way even when they don’t. They had a life planned out for Harry, regardless of what he wanted. He was the cheeky one, he was supposed to marry someone who was a little cooler and daring then Kate and they were supposed to provide tabloid fodder. They were supposed to spend all their time at private clubs, and shopping, and being ” celebrities” who weren’t serious. Not outshine the heir and his wife by being intelligent, hardworking, charming and funny. And his wife definitely wasn’t supposed to be an independently wealthy, accomplished, american, black woman who had already been divorced.
Agree. It is snark disguised. I don’t think that there are that many people “hate-watching” the entire series and putting it in the top ten. She still doesn’t want to admit that Meghan is a success because people do admire her. And the term “hate-watch” has been around for quite some time.
I think that’s what bothers me that even her success they want to attribute to negativity and not her hard work. People are not hate watching shows until the top 10 and 40 countries. They are not hate buying I’m selling out jewelry and Le creuset. They are not hate donating to charities to the tens of thousands of dollars and her children’s names. She successful because a lot of people like her. And they still can’t just unequivocally say, we were wrong. She’s great.
Right? Just say it already. People like her. Yes, some don’t sure. But at the end of the day, a lot of people like Meghan and are intrigued by her and its not just squaddies.
Even on here, we see people lay out plans for Charlotte and Louis and even George. People have created whole narratives around those three children – whether they’re sad or serious or unhappy or cheeky or independent – based on a few public sightings a year.
I mean I’d be looking sad if I was surrounded by photographers too. Or possibly acting extra happy to compensate. It’s a weird reality to have. I can’t imagine.
Dr. Tessa seems to have 2 personality, the hosts of British TV shows and podcasts never knew which Tessa would show up that day. However, don’t be fool: She might sometimes criticize the BRF, but she is a pure Royalist at heart; her PhD degree holds her back from becoming a deranger in front of audience.
Most of the Brit (educated) historians that dabble on Royal History will not really loudly call out the wrongful behaviors the current & past BRF (from Q Victoria) have committed. Even Dr. Kate Williams, who has never bad mouth Meghan, admitted she’s a Monachist.
Secretly? Secretly!
Makes you wonder what these people are like when they aren’t being secretive about wanting Meghan to fail🤔
Jeremy revealed all but they missed the hung and quartered bit. Some of them wish it was the time of the Tudors and capital punishment.
Agree with @stillDouchesofCambridge. Meghan’s determination, work ethic, smartness along with Harry’s realization made it possible for them to succeed outside of that prison. As far as B list actress, Meghan earned more in one show than many of them earn annually.
I actually read that unfortunately , she is just another bitter old hag who can’t decide what she is trying to say and it ended up being a mosh pit of complete and utter rubbish journalism .
I don’t really know what she is trying to say to be honest .
The loser leftovers drove Harry out. His father is a complete failure to both of his sons and not a parent. His brother is a spoiled, lazy, jealous child who only tolerated Harry when he could control and abuse him. Meghan did not steal a thing. She gave the man love and a family.
“Secretly” isn’t the word to use there. We all have read many articles daily about their desires for H&M to fail miserably and go back to UK to be abused. That is not gonna happen. Also, nobody treated Harry well when he was living in UK. They are talking like Harry had a great life in UK. He was harassed by paps before Meghan too. He himself wrote that he stopped going out because he didn’t want to get harassed by paps anymore. Why would he choose the life of abuse instead of the people (Meghan and Archie) who loved and cared for him? I am sure these same reporters would make fun of him for getting dumped and divorced by Meghan.
Many working actors / actresses would die for what Meghan got. They can minimize her work all they want. It is always those who achieved nothing doing that. Considering how hard it is to make it in Hollywood, making millions from a show is the dream.
“Hate watch” is not new. It was coined around 2008. I don’t think the show’s popularity and top ten status is from hate watching. She doesn’t want to acknowledge Meghan’s success because of being likable any more than the other BM.
They like to forget all their successful tours: Oceania, Morocco, South Africa.
And after they left, the Invictus cities, Nigeria, Colombia…
….so no, these people (and the world) aren’t hate watching, they’re reflecting the couple’s popularity in every endeavour they take.
Well, actually Dunlop, it wasn’t so secret.
Hate-watch is not a new term 🙄 and while I’m sure hatewatching accounts for SOME of the views, not all of them, not by a long shot. Hate watching isn’t the reason Le Creusets are flying off the shelves, or the reason people like Emeril Lagasse are making one pot pasta all of a sudden.
That said, I’m sure its what the British press is telling itself and is telling the royal family – people don’t actually LIKE Meghan, oh no, this is just hatewatching!! But you know what? Let’s say every single person watching that show was doing it against their will and they all hate Meghan. You know who doesn’t care? Netflix. We’ve said it on here time and again – netflix doesn’t care why you’re watching. They care that you’re watching.
What the article does get right – yes, some people hate her for “stealing” their prince, like they thought Harry might choose them if only Meghan hadn’t come around. and yes, Meghan is proving that there is life after the royal family and that is a very dangerous idea for the royal family. Part of the reason the press and the Firm wanted H&M so badly to fail wasn’t just personal – it was because they don’t want other royals, especially younger ones like Charlotte or Louis, to get any ideas in their heads about leaving the Firm.
It was not a bit part in suits me dunlop.
M s Dunlop. Edit
Ha, good point. I always forget that sometimes these articles are written for the royals just as much as the public. So yes, the family can self-soothe as they read about how people are definitely absolutely only watching WLM bc of “hate-watching”. Which of course is a lie. People aren’t making one-pot pasta dishes and buying up Le Creuset bc they hated it. But sure, the egos need to be soothed. Such fragility, my god.
@beck1: “Meghan is proving that there is life after the royal family and that is a very dangerous idea for the royal family. Part of the reason the press and the Firm wanted H&M so badly to fail wasn’t just personal – it was because they don’t want other royals, especially younger ones like Charlotte or Louis, to get any ideas in their heads about leaving the Firm.”
This is sooo true. Harry, a prince has literally come out and said royalty is not what it looks like. Meghan said too and thats why a lot of people dislike her. People being those who built this fantasy of the royal family in their head thinking its only tiaras and ballgowns with a happily ever after prince. If Harry and Meghan are happy and successful outside the firm, what does that tell the world about the royal life? And if charlotte and louis want to leave, there is literally a blueprint. And the firm hates that.
Wait what? Emeril’s making one pot pasta too?🥰🥰
“Grudging” respect – as in, given only reluctantly or resentfully.
These same people wanted who harry to be a third wheel and harry secretly adores Kate. Some actually have said this
Not some, Kate and Will’s sources said this, how happy they were as threesome, doing events and Meghan ruined it 🤮🤮
Kate wanted to be the center of attention and flirted with Harry.
A lot of people want to see her fail or suffer in some way a la Clarksen. What he said was disgusting and graphic but at the end of the day there is a real desire for some sort of a public shaming. That part Dunlop gets correct. The rest is meh.
The other side to this is the public like to see the triumph of the underdog and the Sussexes are the underdogs in this story.
They escaped a toxic institution, a toxic family fed by toxic tabloids and they’ve triumphed. Those who want to see them fail are part of that toxic environment but the world is a much bigger place filled with more people than the toxic few.
That’s true. But in a way the underdog story is antithetical to the idea of a hierarchical monarchy. Technically, they kind of turned Elizabeth’s dad into an underdog story with the King’s Speech. But just regular old heir following the next first born heir does not engender much to root for.
Blogger, you are 100% on point! The Saltine island is a small spec compared to the rest of the world. The rest of the world value Harry and Meghan’s for their work, philanthropy and commitment to making a better world for people in general.
I mean by now she’s stating the obvious.
But, but, but, she’s a HISTORIAN!
lol 😂
Eurydice, if I were her, I would blush to be called that.
HISTORIAN Tessa Dunlop: (1) “Meghan…one-time bit-part actress in a B-list series.”
(2) “With Love, Meghan…has…universal loathing.”
(3) “With Love Meghan… inspired a new verb – to hate-watch.”
Falsehoods – why I don’t read T. Dunlop.
Much prefer historian Caroline Elkins when it comes to reading about the BRITISH EMPIRE!
I always have to question people who try and minimize who Meghan was prior to meeting Harry. Unlike all of the other women who married into that family, she was an educated and self made millionaire. She not only double majored at a prestigious university but she worked on a successful series that lasted for eight seasons, which doesn’t happen often. Actors dream of finding a job that not only pays well but has benefits and is long lasting. She found what so many go to LA for and never find. She was not only a millionaire but she was well known globally before she ever met Harry. There isn’t a person who has married into that family or writing any of these hate pieces can say anything like that about themselves. She entered that space better than Dunlop and all the other royals because of her intelligence, work ethic and determination. She and Harry were going to be successful leaving that place regardless of what these people want to believe. The royals laziness, incompetence and lack of work ethic is why others wouldn’t succeed. That’s why Diana would have definitely succeeded if she would have lived. The failures are those who remain and live off of taxpayers by doing nothing for others.
Well, compared to the monarchy, everybody else is a nobody – that’s the general attitude.
Nerd—as well, doing a long-running show is serious work. People think actors just show up, look good and spout lines…nope. Between memorizing scripts, knowing your marks, on-set politics, and 12+ hour shooting days, that takes commitment and discipline, in addition to talent. None of which the BM or RF have, to say the least.
what bothers me is that the tabs talk about “scathing” reviews when they come from people who wanted her to fail. They note Hollywood Reporter and Vanity Fair who had recent “hit pieces” on the Netflex Show and even before it was released. Propaganda machine at work.
“Hate-watch” as a term has been around for years, according to Wikipedia it was entering the common lexicon in 2012.
I will ALWAYS LOVE 😡 how they IGNORE the words that came out of Harry’s mouth…Harry wasn’t thinking of a half-in/half-out when he MET Meghan…he was making THOSE plans on his own BEFORE Meghan which is why he set Invitcus up out of the purview of the Gray Suits…why he ALWAYS kept his relationships strong OUTSIDE of the Royal Family…why he WAITED to find a partner where THAT would be possible….
But just like they blamed Yoko for the breakup of The Beatles when John & George was ITCHING to get away for YEARS…and Sir Paul was…PRETTY RASCIST regarding Yoko during that time period…Society is ALWAYS gonna blame “The Woman” and if “The Woman” ain’t Whyte? Even betta!😡
2.6M non bot followers on Meghan’s Instagram account prove the hateful content creators, lifestyle show hosts and professional chefs hold no sway, the BM hit pieces, especially the ones featuring the spiteful Markles, don’t land anymore, and the BRF are not the center of the universe as it thought it was.
People knowing the real Meghan scares them all that’s why they desperately try to rewrite her life story.
The term hate-watch has been around since long before Meghan’s show.
Gee the bitterness of these people! Is there something in the water? And while I guess Dunlop was trying to make a point about the pathetic jealousy that is driving a lot of the negativity, her point is undermined by all of the cheap shots at Meghan. “One-time bit part actress in a B-list TV show”? I’ve noticed that a common theme among the haters is that Meghan should “go back to acting”, it must be the new talking point from the media and palace, this obsession that Meghan can only be an actress and therefore a lifestyle show is totally out of her comfort zone.
When I hear this “actress” stuff I hear Aunt Catherine from Marty’s voice in my head – “one step from the street”. (She was talking about women who went to college so I guess Meghan would have two strikes against her.). Throwing “actress” at Meghan doesn’t have quite the same original connotation, but yeah, still not being used as a complement. For the record, Meghan the bit part (she wasn’t) actress was the one paying for the furniture that the grandson of the queen/son of the king couldn’t afford. That seems worth mentioning, but what do I know.
I’ve had this sense about Dunlop before, that she can make a reasonable point but can’t help undermining herself by including typical snark peddled by the same cadre of bad actors. The irony is, the people whose qualifications I end up questioning are the ones doing the writing/talking, who are either too lazy to research details, or so fond of their own cleverness they don’t care if accuracy or objectivity falls by the wayside. I’d throw Graydon Carter in here as well. He likely knows what’s been going on with Spotify the past few years, but just can’t help going for the pithy soundbite.
I think this snark is the snobbery that comes from the gatekeepers determining what is and isn’t important. Like Dunlop feels she’s above the “petty drama” of the Sussexes, but she’s stooping down from her serious heights to comment on what the little people are thinking. And Vanity Fair has always been like that – considering itself the gatekeeper of what’s fashionable, stylish, educated, high minded. Like, “*sigh* the great unwashed are foaming about Meghan, so I have to say something, but it’ll be snarky and cynical so people know I’m above all this.”
An interesting point, which raises the question of whether control isn’t just as much an issue for these people as it is for the tabloid media, just in a different form. Meghan is popular and successful, all without receiving that seal of approval from the “tastemakers”. So successful, in fact, that it doesn’t really matter if it’s among the “little people” – she is a big deal. Dunlop et. al. can sniff all they want, but it undermines their perceived power and they resent it. The underlying snark sounds just like what we get from the BM and their ilk (maybe a trifle more polite) because it is. These people have no control over Meghan (and Harry) either.
@windyriver – Oh yes, it’s all about control. And even though Meghan seems the lightning rod, it’s actually a bigger picture of traditional media, experts, gatekeepers, “quality” controllers, all fighting against social media and the opportunity it gives creators to bypass the gatekeepers and go straight to the audience.
The monarchy is the ultimate gatekeeper and Meghan has bypassed them to create her own content – she’s “who cares about the RF, who cares about the tabloids. Hello people, this is me.” And the response is “who cares about the RF, who cares about the reviews. Hello Meghan, we like who you are.”
This is why the BAFTAS must be uncomfortable for Willie.
They don’t have the same energy for other “actresses” like the one who married Fred Windsor or Harry’s blonde ex. They wish Meghan was Lili Lantry and mistress instead of duchess.
These people are stuck in a time warp but then again they know what they’re doing. They use actors and actresses for their PR when it’s convenient – Tom Cruise, the Dames etc.
This has me thinking about how many other women throughout history have been unfavorably re-written and how we have been robbed of knowing them and their powerful stories and how it’s happening again, right now in my own government. Makes me want to go to war for women’s justice.
And yet Dunlop can’t resist throwing snide and demeaning remarks about Meghan. She acknowledges Meghan’s success, but is she also secretly surprised that Meghan is loved, successful and a force to be reckoned with? Did she also think Meghan is two-bit actress who “stole” their prince? She may throw out a few truths, but still can’t resist dissing Meghan. I’m having a hard time thinking that her remarks are sardonic or dissing the tabloid and haters. It’s perhaps also self-revealing. There is no correcting the haters’ vision. They can continue to resent the two-bit actress, and see her as a thief who stole a prince. Haters still would not be able to entertain the thought that the prince left willingly for HER kingdom to live happily. But, yes, some truth finally from someone on Salt Island.
Thanks for putting all the links to Dunlop’s pieces together. It helps to get a feel for her ‘reportings’ when I can read (re-read!) them altogether.
Princess Diana was the first one to prove there’s a successful and fulfilling life after the royal family. She continued to be a global sensation on her own. The royals hated that. The management of her accident and getting her medical assistance remains murky. Thank god M&H escaped to safety.
I think this is the most important line:
“The Duchess of Sussex has become the catch-all for our own feelings of inadequacy and jealousy.”
However Dunlop framed it, this line packs a punch because it’s absolutely true.
True. That line does get to the heart of it. Despite all the snarky tabloid-speak.
They’re gonna need a bigger catch-all, because there is just too much inadequacy and jealousy for M to contain for them. Perhaps that was what the empire was for? All that inadequacy and jealousy spilling beyond Britain’s borders.
First steps!
Now, why are you feeling inadequate? Why are you feeling so much jealousy? 😂
Ex. act. ly.
O how they loved to rewrite history when Harry was in the army he was expressing that he rather be on the battlefield than in the U.K And yes that whole admission is on film for prosperity. Even the Queen knew it. Why do you think that she give them they positions of her ambassadors of the Commonwealth? So they had a excuse to get the hell out of Britain and possibly live somewhere else when they where to stressed.
Harry is the one who stole himself away. It was always in him, a longing was already there. He fell head over heels in love. HE wisely got his love and his child the hell out of Dodge when it wasn’t safe. NOT that M is weak or an unequal partner. As a Windsor Prince Harry had to make the break. As soon as Charles said there wouldn’t be money to sustain Harry’s future wife it was a foregone conclusion that they would leave.
The salty ones never admit it was Charles and Will’s dumbassery that predicated everything. They need to start with the truth.
My question is if he couldn’t pay for Harry’s wife who was the hell was he paying for? Camilla’s family? Harry and Meghan were doing important work for the monarchy. Drawing all kinds of new attention that that family could ever dream of and he didn’t have any money for her? What he didn’t want was to pay for the mixed-race lady. Just being a typical racist thinking she wasn’t worthy of getting anything from them.
Dunlop meet her husband when she was 16/18 and he was 12.
Nowhere in this stinking piece of crap does Dunlop touch on the level of baseless hatred, death threats, the terrible depression Meghan fell into where she had thoughts of suicide, the iron-fisted control of the grey men who took her passport, car keys and wouldn’t let her see friends for a simple coffee or lunch. Nowhere did she mention the withering contempt and outright racism with which she was treated by most of the BRF, especially by the WanKs. Nowhere does she mention Charles pulling their security and booting them out of their home, for which they paid for renovations and upgrades THEMSELVES. Oh she begrudgingly gives Meghan a few back-handed compliments but then matches them with putdowns. Jealousy is a terrible affliction and what you’re seeing here in this endless stream of carefully worded or blatant invective is jealousy of a biracial woman who has been a huge success and showed up the BaRF for the lazy, useless sods they truly are.
Jaded, this is the best — most incisive, most powerful — summing up of the entire ordeal that I’ve read. Kudos. It’s a shaft of light in a cave, which is, apparently, where many British tabloid readers are dwelling. This is the bit that always leapt out at me, having moved to London from the U.S. in 2007: there is a huge audience for this brand of racist, sexist, anti-American, bigoted, xenophobic vitriol. Stephen Colbert — in his interview with Harry — referenced not just the tabloids but “the people who read them,” and this is where I kind of lose my love for this country, or, at least, remind myself to take it slowly, warily, picking and choosing all the way. The way they treat Meghan & Harry is just the top 10% of the iceberg over the waterline. There is something desperately wrong with this society. I know Trump’s America is no moral bellwether, but I still can’t *imagine* any media outlet in the US generating the malicious, neurotic, hysterical coverage that Meghan gets here. The closest approximation is Fox News — but they’re attacking the Democrats or the “woke mob” or the “libs” as a sort of vast anonymous, generic abstraction. Attacking a person? Like this? For years? Who is a young mother? With two children? Can you even imagine what those kids will feel about this island when they are old enough to read the coverage that was hurled at their mum? Do British people *really* not get that snark, sneering, and simpering passive aggression are just not registers in their commentary and “journalism” that sound normal to other people? Are they just used to bathing in vile, poisonous bilge? WTF? I mean. I think the Taliban would have difficulty mounting a witch hunt with this much stamina and longevity. What did the man say, in Jamaica? “Bitter, bitter, bitter.” ….really.
Superb reply. Dunlop used to be a defender of Meghan but last year decided to join the hate train for clicks and cash. Cue a series of disparaging articles and soundbites from her. Even this one as you correctly point out is dripping in snobbery and contempt, with no acknowledgement of the appalling behaviour of the RF and their supplicant media enablers.
I agree with everything you said
I kind of take issue with the whole “she’s sending a message” thing. Meghan isn’t sending any messages to the ratchet royals or their deplorable pack of rabid followers. She’s just living her life and being successful. And they all HATE her for it. She does not control how others feel or how they manage their emotions. She is not their global therapist.
In the process of belittling Meghan, they always neglect facts such as Meghan having been recruited by the Women of the United Nations to work with and represent them. Can anyone see this happening to anyone of the leftover royal women? least of all lazy Katie?
Meghan is a very accomplished woman, which Harry found out very early, and is a big part of what drew him to her. And NO she didn’t steal him, he ran full speed to her.
Well said Monique .
Well said Monique . Neither stole the other ..if anything it was Harry who won the sweepstakes ..look at what she gave him ..an escape route out of that right royal snake pit . She brought him love and enabled him to become his best self , gave him two perfect children , this was a rescue..whoever Meghan looks out for has been privileged and touched by an angel ..whether it’s rescue puppies , friends in need or a much abused prince. Everyone should be so lucky.
“Stealing” their prince illustrates how at many of the Brits see the royal family as things that belong to them. Hence, they expect (actually require) them to act in a certain way (ridiculous protocols) and dedicate themselves to public duty for their entire lives.
The members of the royal family ought to have the same rights to decide their own futures as does the public. None of them chose to be born royal, and while that life comes with money and privilege, how many of the people in that “public” would really choose to live their lives in such a controlled fishbowl with all the constant criticism for every “infraction” to that public’s expectations? Some of the British people, need to wake up and realize how they are damaging their beloved royals.
And it is the children who really are paying the price for all of this. Even as a child, he never wanted the photographers and the rules. (Personally, I really worry when I see the children being so well-behaved.) Harry escaped for 10 years while he was in the military and has said he was happiest during those years as a regular person. He always wanted out.
And in regards to the articles about supposed money-grubbing Meghan, she was mostly shocked that William had everything including several incredibly luxurious homes, while Harry was living in a tiny hovel and buying his clothes on sale at bargain stores. THAT was her shock, not that she expected to marry a billionaire!
The RF’s bummed that between Harry’s escape and The Crown on Netflix, we now know they suck, the institution sucks, and it would totally suck to be part of the entire charade. The long con has ended.
BTW, the comment about “bit actress, B-show, blah, blah.” The writer is a bitter Betty.
Britspeak: B-list, C-list = blah blah.
B-list TV series in USA with 315M total viewing market (125M households) would far outrank any A-list TV series in UK with ~60M total viewing market.
These people’s hatred of Meghan is every neighbour’s hatred of the other person whose car is bigger, whose marriage is better, whose children are smarter, whose hair is prettier, whose legs are longer, whose wallet is fatter and so on. Envy, jealousy and resentment are an archaic part of our society and our emotional world. If we do not socialise our feelings like our minds, if our education systems do not help to shape our emotional world, we will become predators with the help of our inflammatory magazines and politicians who abuse this for their power. The good becomes predatory and destructive. Meghan is like the beautiful neighbour who needs to be hurt, thrown in the dirt because she seems favoured. These haters need to find gratitude for their own lives, for what they themselves have, because there is always at least one person whose legs are longer, whose car is bigger.
And may I add to the last couple of comments by Maja and others: Did these commenters NOT have their parents tell them that some things are NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS?
I really am beginning to dislike the title some people online have as “influencers” because they are using it to spread hate and jealousy. And 99% of it is really and truly none of their business. Everyone has the right to marry who they want when they want, without the rest of the world passing judgment on them. This applies to the way Princess Margaret was treated and forbidden to marry the man she loved, as well as Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, and Andrew and Sarah. Ditto for Harry and Meghan’s “quick” marriage, as it was called.
Sticking your nose into other people’s business is common, but in these cases it has gone to the point of not just giving advice but to cruelty and wanting to cause pain to others. It is absolutely the job of no one to judge anyone else, which is why all of this is so upsetting.
That’s why it’s called the Windsor Zoo and they really need to free the animals in them.
They left Beatrice alone she married a man who had broken up with his pregnant fiancee not that long before he dated Beatrice. And Mike who was seen with another woman after he married z a r a
Tessa he was still with his baby mama when Fergie started arranging the business arrangement/marriage. Bea wanted a wedding while her grandparents were alive, fergie and Andrew arranged it.
Edo doesn’t love Bea, he loves the attention he gets from being in the royal family. They’re both happy to destroy his sons privacy while keeping their two girls from being papped.
I’m actually flabbergasted how this show has everyone, especially in the UK, in such a chokehold. Everyone and their nasty sorority sister is talking smack but I’m enjoying all the love and food videos being shown. Also a lot of food blogs and magazines like the show and aren’t treating it like a make or break of Western civilization. It’s soothing eye candy and a bit of kindness in very bizarre times. These people are just nasty. So glad Meghan is writing her cute notes and showing pics from her actual garden ( iykyk). All these people saying she stole their prince barely know Harry and didn’t treat him and his choice of partner with respect.
It’s obvious they’re envious of M. For being successful on her own, for Not having to rely on the BRF or the firm. It goes back to what others have talked about in SM many times already. That the class system is alive on the other side of the pond and they look down on those who wants to move up and have career ambitions/accomplishments. And the fact is, M is a bi-racial American not their own English rose 🙄.
She did not invent the hate-watch!!!
Harry said in Spare that Meghan not only stopped the converyer belt. She smashed it to pieces. Do these fools who keep living in their fantasy world really believe that Harry won’t stay with his wife ? That he would leave her and his children for them ? It’s time for These folks to check themselves in for long term treatment.
As a society we need to have honest discussions about race and how black women are treated and marginalized. If Meghan wasn’t a black lady, the press could not have so openly attacked her for nearly a decade, especially the specific examples where Keener was praised and Meghan was attacked for doing the same things. The media/Windsors really thought that if Meghan was continuously eviscerated in the media, Harry would leave his wife/kids and return to be Willy’s flunky. Willy’s failure to launch and ineptide being covered through continuous abusive coverage of Meghan, Harry and their children that continues 5 years after they left the UK is the real story.
The dm had a shameless article about Meghan how people allegedly did not like her at the walkabout before queens funeral. Focusing on the rude girls that snubbed her ignoring that the people mostly were friendly
And accusing Meghan of stepping in front of the wails. When it was because keen lunged at her. Keen gets free pass
As a Brit i can tell you the majority of people do not hate Meghan. We have the most toxic tabloid press in the world but they do not speak for all of us. They only tap into the small pocket of racist, sexist, homophobic and overall cretins of society. But their voices (Daily Mail) are very loud and powerful. Harry was always the most loved member of the royal family and people will always root for him and his happiness. Meghan’s treatment has been cruel and truly wish her and her family all the blessings in life. Happiness, success and living well is the only way to silence the toxicity they have faced.
So they like or liked Harry and want him to get a divorce, separate him from his children, beg his gamily for scraps and make his life difficult . Wow that is love for those “fans” and grey people?
I just looked up what Tessa looked like and rolled my eyes. Another scarecrow who rants and raves about someone who is miles ahead of her in every single way.