The Duchess of Sussex has responded to the backlash she received for critical comments about the royal family, partially blaming her “open” and “trusting” nature.
In a wide-ranging Variety cover story published on Tuesday, Meghan touched on the death of the Queen and her legacy, the #MeToo movement and her relationship with the entertainment industry.
The actor and non-working royal declared she could survive the criticism thrown her way after saying she and Prince Harry were “happy” to leave Britain and had been “upsetting the dynamic” of the royal hierarchy “just by existing”.
Those comments were made in an August cover story for New York Magazine’s The Cut, which was criticised by some as snarky or self-serving.
“The story was intended to support Archetypes and focus on our projects,” Meghan said.
“I’ve had some time to reflect on it. Part of me is just really trusting, really open — that’s how I move in the world.
“I have to remember that I don’t ever want to become so jaded that that piece of me goes away.
“So despite any of those things? Onward. I can survive it.”
The interview’s publication was pushed because of the death of the Queen and Meghan reportedly worried any of her comments on the subject would be a “distraction”.
But she took time to praise the monarch as a “shining example” of female leadership, whom she was deeply grateful to have known.
“There’s been such an outpouring of love and support,” Meghan said.
“I’m really grateful that I was able to be with my husband to support him, especially during that time.
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“What’s so beautiful is to look at the legacy that his grandmother was able to leave on so many fronts.”
Meghan was keen to stress the importance of people seeing her as a real person and avoiding dehumanising people, revealing her hardest podcast interview was with Paris Hilton because the reality star provoked her “envy and judgement”.
Having spoken in her recent podcast episode about the daily “suck it in” comments that eventually prompted her to quit US TV game show Deal or no Deal, Meghan spoke to Variety about the #MeToo movement.
“We didn’t have a name for it at that time. There were just certain things that were accepted,” she said.
“If there was any discomfort, you just dealt with it. It forced a lot of women to live with this idea of staying silent, not being disruptive, not giving voice to the things that might create concern or discomfort.”
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Markle also revealed she wouldn’t be returning to acting but would be supportive if her children, Archie, 3; and Lilibet, 1; wanted to go into the entertainment industry.
“I’m done. I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not,” she said.
