Meghan Markle seems to have it all: a loving husband, an adorable baby, and all the advantages in the world, as a member of the British royal family. Still, she has been through the wringer in the past year, experiencing one round of negative press after another.

While many royal fans might have thought that Markle has been soldiering through it all without much thought to what the tabloids say, the truth of the matter is that she has been affected in an almost devastating way. In a recent interview, Markle opened up to host Tom Bradby, offering unprecedented access to her innermost thoughts and concerns.

The British media doesn’t like Meghan Markle

When Markle and Prince Harry first went public with their relationship in 2016, people were shocked. The British media, in particular, couldn’t seem to reconcile with the fact that their beloved prince had chosen to spend his life with a divorced actress.

While most American fans loved the idea that a seemingly “ordinary” girl could find love with a member of the royal family, Markle began to experience the beginning of a relentless campaign against her in the British press. Many people began to believe that the press didn’t like the fact that Markle is biracial. Prince Harry even spoke out, releasing a statement in the early days of their relationship, slamming the racist and sexist coverage of her.

Sadly, his statement didn’t seem to make a difference, and the attacks continued well after their marriage and after the birth of their son, Archie Harrison. 

Meghan Markle didn’t expect how cruel the media would be

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While at Victoria Yards in Johannesburg this afternoon, The Duchess of Sussex had the opportunity to learn more about the importance of, and how to enable a ‘wellbeing economy’ thanks to Co-Director of the Maker’s Valley Partnership, Simon Sizwe. Simon was awarded a full scholarship to attend the Young African Leaders Initiative programme initiated by President Obama, and he explained that by investing in the overall well-being of a community and its people, and focusing on that economy, you can enrich everyone for a better quality of life. She also met with the owners of Sobae Frozen, an entrepreneurial duo who created their small business as a solution to food waste, creating vegan sorbet from unused fruit from Victoria Yards. At the end of her visit, The Duchess was moved by the original poetry of Belita Andre, the winner of the Poetry Grandslam. In her reading she said: “The Maker’s Valley is a social and enterprise hub, a wave between my corner of the world and yours. Insisting that beyond the anchors of survival. How to make sure that everyone gets to shore, pass around an ocean of stars, not because our sleepless nights are equal but because our dreams are.” • #RoyalVisitSouthAfrica

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Sep 30, 2019 at 11:06am PDT

In September 2019, Markle and Prince Harry took a tour of Africa, with the intention of working with some of their favorite charities, meeting some well-respected world leaders, and raising awareness for some important causes. While they were there, they did a series of interviews with newsman Tom Bradby, talking to him about the pressure that they are under and some of the ways that the press is making their lives difficult.

The interviews became top news almost immediately, with Markle’s segment getting the most attention. During her talk with Bradby, Markle revealed that she was unprepared for the viciousness of the British press.

She did admit that she never thought it would be easy to live under a microscope, but she did think that it would be fair. Markle went on to say that the unfairness is, to her, the thing that is really “hard to reconcile.” 

How are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle fighting back?

Clearly, the stress of being attacked every day is taking a toll on Markle. Still, she and Prince Harry aren’t taking it sitting down anymore.

In early October, on the heels of their Africa trip, the couple announced that they would be taking legal action against a British newspaper, the Mail on Sunday, that had published a private letter from Duchess Meghan to her father around the time of the royal wedding in May 2018. 

While not everyone supports the lawsuit, it is clear that the couple is done playing games with the press. The Mail on Sunday has stated that they intend to protect their side of the story, so it will be interesting to see how this story plays out over the course of the year. Hopefully, Markle will be able to find a little bit of peace from the media at the end of it all.