One of my strongest memories from the 2020 Commonwealth Day service is how peaceful the Duchess of Sussex looked and seemed that day. It was her last public event as a “working royal” following the terms of the Sussexit at the Sandringham Summit. Prince William and Kate were doing the most to visibly snub Harry and Meghan before and during the service at Westminster Abbey, but Meghan just sat in the Abbey with an utterly serene look on her face. She even vibed out to the music and seemed to really enjoy the service overall. Her final event as a “working royal” was religious, and the future supreme governor of the Church of England was a C-U-Next-Tuesday to her in church. I bring that up because people are talking about Meghan’s faith right now, in the wake of Prince William’s staff briefing the Times that he has a newfound “quiet faith.” But his quiet faith was contingent on something ridiculous: it’s because the new Archbishop of Canterbury didn’t give religious counseling to Meghan and Harry!! Well, the Mail says that Meghan is literally “holier than thou” – “thou” being a bald agnostic demon.
Prince William has sparked controversy with a somewhat lukewarm endorsement of the Church of England, which he will one day govern, after it was revealed he has a ‘quiet faith’. However, if the Future King is in need of a spiritual boost, he need look no further for inspiration than his wife and sister-in-law Meghan Markle who have both leaned into their religious beliefs to manage some of life’s greatest obstacles.
The Princess of Wales reportedly used her faith as a tool while she navigated her cancer diagnosis, while King Charles also used his relationship with the church to manage his respective health battle.
Meanwhile, prior to meeting Prince Harry and converting into the Church of England, Meghan Markle, who was raised Protestant, would gather her Suits co-stars for a prayer circle before filming. According to Meghan’s old school friend Ninaki Priddy, it was God who got the Duchess of Sussex through her ‘darkest moments’.
Raised as a protestant who attended a Catholic school, Meghan’s faith is said to be a key part of her life, with the Duchess even routinely gathering her Suits castmates for a ‘prayer circle’ before they began filming.
‘She used to gather the cast and crew of Suits for a prayer circle before starting work,’ they claimed. ‘Her invocations on set were never about a specific theology. Instead, she wanted to bring everyone together during moments of transition or difficulty.’
While studying at Northwestern, one of Meghan’s best friends came from a Christian family and the pair would reportedly ‘often pray together while at school’.
Close friend Ninaki told Mr Scobie and Ms Durand: ‘Part of what helped Meghan get through this difficult time was her faith. Her relationship with God and with her church is extremely important to her. That’s something most people do not know about her. It plays a central role in her life, as an individual, as a woman.’
In 2018, Meghan underwent a ‘beautiful’ baptism into the Church of England ahead of her royal wedding. A further source claimed: ‘It’s prayer and conversations with God that have gotten her through the darkest moments. That’s something that plays a significant role in her life and her relationship with Harry. The two have been on a journey of faith together.’
I’m surprised the Mail isn’t mentioning Meghan’s premarital religious counseling with Justin Welby, the previous Archbishop of Canterbury. Meghan’s apparent closeness with Welby was cited, by the Times and by sources close to Prince William, as the big reason why William has been hesitant to go to church or embrace Christianity or speak to Welby. But yes, it does sound like Meghan has always been a person of deep faith, not out of performative convenience or optics-driven image maintenance. You can’t say the same about William or Kate.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid.
