This week, they’ve decided to use the Duchess of Edinburgh as a cudgel with which to bash the Duchess of Sussex. The comparison between the two women is supposed to be unfavorable to Meghan! They’re saying that “Meghan is an influencer while Sophie has real influence.” Nevermind that Sophie is a prideless bootlicker and so boring that absolutely none of the British media send photographers to cover her international travels. Nevermind that whenever Meghan breathes, travels, posts on social media or says anything about anything, she garners a zillion headlines. If attention is currency, Meghan is a billionaire and Sophie is in deep debt. But please enjoy these asinine quotes:
Meghan Markle is a self-proclaimed feminist and vowed to continue her work for women’s advocacy even when she stepped down from official royal duties with Prince Harry. But since the launch of her Netflix series and lifestyle brand, As Ever, it’s another royal who was become synonymous with working tirelessly in the women’s rights realm, while Meghan’s public persona is all jam and flower sprinkles.
Just last week, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, was at the Imperial War Museum to visit the UK’s first exhibition on the victims of sexual violence in conflict and gave an impassioned speech, where she spoke movingly about a visit she made to Kosovo in 2019 and the ‘shame and stigma’ of the rape survivors she met.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline that this is exactly the kind of hard-hitting advocacy work that could have allowed Meghan to flourish in the Royal Family given it’s so far removed from the ‘softer’ duties, involving cutting ribbons and shaking hands.
‘Meghan is struggling to be an influencer, Sophie has influence in ways that really matter, which Meghan could have been,’ he said. ‘Meghan has always boasted about how she promotes feminism. Yet contrast the occasional speech she makes in comfortable surroundings with the remarkable work of Sophie who actually visits areas of the world such as Sudan and Chad which have been devastated by war and attempts to comfort the women who are victims of rape and exploitation.
‘If Meghan had seriously wanted to make a difference, she should surely have remained a senior working royal. It does involve compromise, but think what could have been achieved for an important cause she claims is so dear to her heart.’
He added that Meghan’s departure from frontline royal duties is a case of ‘wasted potential’, while Sophie has ‘proved she’s the Royal Family’s champion of women’s rights…While Meghan sends pots of jam to celebrities, it is the Duchess of Edinburgh who meets survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and displaced women in a landmark visit to Ukraine.’
Richard explained: ‘In [Meghan’s] visits to Rwanda in 2016 and India in 2017 and in a memorable speech to the United Nations International Women’s Day Conference in 2015, she campaigned for equal opportunities. She stressed this in her visits to the Antipodes and South Africa when she and Harry were still senior working members of the royal family. This potential has surely been wasted since she and Harry stepped down from royal duties.’
I kind of enjoy when these people come close to admitting the thing they’re never supposed to say out loud: that Meghan was and is an amazing ambassador for the issues she cares about, like women’s rights, and that Meghan would have been doing amazing work for the Windsors if only they hadn’t treated her like sh-t and briefed lies about her constantly. Currently, Meghan is exactly where she is supposed to be, doing exactly what she wants. She doesn’t need the Firm to make news or work on the issues she cares about, and that’s why they’re pissed.
What’s also remarkable is that Dick Fitzwilliams can’t work up any energy to compare and contrast Sophie’s work with the other royal woman, you know, the Princess of Wales. Everyone of these ghastly royal commentators insisted that Kate is so perfect and she will work so hard for the Firm, and yet… where’s Kate’s advocacy? Why isn’t Kate expected to speak up for women’s rights? Why isn’t work-shy Kate being unfavorably compared to Sophie? How about this? “While Kate commissions patronizing videos about the seasons, it is the Duchess of Edinburgh who meets survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and displaced women in a landmark visit to Ukraine.” How about this? “Kate is struggling to do anything at all, and Sophie has influence in ways that really matter, which Kate could have been.”
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
