After a reign of around 70 years, the recent announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II has attracted innumerable condolences and sympathies for the members of the royal family. This is indeed a sad day for the United Kingdom of Great Britain where the Queen held her position as the nation’s figurehead and received the people’s love and respect for over seven decades now.
While echoes of sorrows and tragedy could be heard furthest corners of the world, the incident has urged people to revisit some of the controversial events surrounding the royal family under the leadership of the Queen for reassessing their roles in retrospect. Some have consistently lent their support and encouragement to the family, while others have never had many kind words to share about the members of the prestigious Buckingham Palace.
Numerous incidents have fueled this negative reaction towards the royal family members be it the infamous divorce of Princess Diana and her resultant separation from the family, or the alleged mistreatment of Meghan Markle. While various reasons have been stated by people for their utter dislike for the family and their members, it would be significant to delve into a few reasons for the same.
Criticisms against the institution of monarchy
The British monarchy is considered as one of the most powerful institutions to exist in the modern world. Generally, the fingers are pointed at the British Royal family because of the dominant belief that they are built on the grounds of an authoritarian, dated, and oppressive political structure. People and groups who have vehemently criticized the royal family have premised their arguments on their beliefs that the family is responsible for retaining, strengthening, and furthering socio-economic inequalities.
Certain groups haven’t shied away from speaking out against the institution of monarchy that is believed to only hold a less significant and nominal position in the country compared to the country’s democratic forces and powers. The British Monarchy suggests that the leading ruler remains the head of the state and the nation.
However, their functions have mostly been considered nominal as the real power rests with the Prime Minister who is also the Head of the Government. Besides their political functions and roles, the opponents of the monarchy perceive the family as consisting of a group of people that are enrobed in regressive traditions such as maintaining the social hierarchy and flaunting their wealth and power in public.
Criticisms, in this respect, have been meted out to the outlandish royal weddings of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle where rumors and concerns revolved around how the ceremony was mostly funded by the taxpaying commoners.
A group of Republics even urged the government to disclose the total amount that the taxpayers paid for the much sought-after wedding of that year. This paved the path for a lot of uproars and protests against the event.
A similar sentiment has also been stretched to Princess Eugene’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank. Apparently, two people were overheard saying, “I hate it when people moan about how much money royal weddings cost. This country has more important problems to worry about. I thought she looked beautiful.”
Overall, those blatantly expressing their dislike for the royal media, be it the political groups or commoners, did so because they regarded the institution of monarchy to be grounded in oppression and inequality. One of the key reasons for the same is the media’s moralization of the British monarchy treating the institution as a fantastical fairy tale while completely ignoring how the presence and idolization of the royal family normalize inequalities and hierarchical social relationships.
The Controversial confessions of Princess Diana and Meghan Markle
Let’s hear the words from the two prominent former members of the royal Family-Princess Diana, the Princess of Wales also known as the unhappy wife of Prince Charles, and Meghan Markle, wife of Prince Harry, the former Duchess of Sussex as well as an actor in her own right.
In the royal family’s memoir, Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ toxic marriage has left a powerful legacy that is still talked about, and which has also established its mark on popular culture. Whether it is the movie Spencer or the outrageous season four of the Netflix series The Crown, Diana’s storyline starting from her marriage to Prince Charles to her rise to power as the People’s Princess is deeply entrenched in her struggles to adapt to the family’s traditions, customs, and practices.
The Princess’ tragic car accident enhanced the criticisms against the family. The entire country spoke against the royal family’s indifference toward people’s grief over Diana’s death. Well, this is not the only reason for popular disapproval as Diana’s popularity was dictated by her philanthropic efforts and approachable attitude towards people.
This had already deepened the popular resentment against the family because of the numerous accusations concerning her mistreatment. Even today, any discussion about Diana calls for a detailed discussion of the royal family’s unfavorable treatment of her.
Well, the story doesn’t end with Diana as it percolates down to the second generation of the family with the issue revolving around the discriminatory treatment of Meghan Markle. When Markle and Harry began dating and later announced their engagement, it was believed that this would usher in an age of royal renewal. A biracial child of a white father and a black mother, her admittance into the royal family was supposed to be the reflection of the monarchy’s step towards racial inclusivity.
Unfortunately, the romantic, fairytale wedding watched by millions of people didn’t have a pleasant ending when the family was accused of being racist towards Markle. The latter, in her interview with Oprah, mentioned how there were numerous discussions regarding her unborn son’s skin color as well as how he was denied the title of a prince because of his mixed race.
In the interview, she repeatedly referred to the institution of monarchy as a ‘firm’ that restricted her physical mobility and degraded her mental health to the extent of harboring suicidal thoughts. The couple spoke against the royal family’s stringent rules and regulations as well as lamented their lack of support for Meghan’s deteriorating mental health.
While the couple was immediately subjected to scrutiny following this confession, they also managed to gain a lot of followers along the way. The criticisms against the royal family grew and social media, especially Twitter was flooded with tweets against the family.
There were various tweets in favor of Markle
“Their is an active role that the firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us.” – Meghan Markle
— BLACKLIVESMATTER (@Jasamgurlie) March 4, 2021
The palace today & their minions, actively participating in framing her while she is pregnant as a “bully” with a so-called “investigation”.
Thank you for proving her point. pic.twitter.com/VZQk4sIoNC
This includes keeping an eye on any upcoming actions by the family.
Anybody else feel incredibly sad what’s happening and been happening to Meghan Markle. To be pregnant and all this stress. She too deserve peace. Why is it so hard for people to just let black women live! Black women deserve respect. Black women deserve the fairy-tale love too.
— Sherdley S (@SherdleyS_) March 3, 2021
Other comments focused on the subject from the perspective of racial discrimination.
It can be stated with certainty that several reasons have heightened the hatred towards the British royal family. However, they are not uniform and ever-changing explaining the family’s popularity despite all odds.