While Meghan Markle makes headlines for her charity work, not everyone is convinced about her intentions.
Royal experts have suggested why the Duchess of Sussex’s efforts often face skepticism. As per royal historian Tessa Dunlop, Meghan’s background as an actress makes people question whether her efforts are truly about helping others or building her personal brand.
She told The Independent that “It is this hybrid identity that trips up Duchess Meghan’s efforts at altruism. First and foremost, she is an actor, a respectfully ambitious woman who made it in a tough industry on her own. That primary image is now tempered by an apparent broader ‘queenly’ desire to be seen as something bigger, more profound: a philanthropic influencer, a community player. And it doesn’t wash.”
Tessa suggested that Prince Harry’s projects are widely praised, like Invictus Games, probably because of he was born and raised in the royal sphere, saying, “Ploddish Prince Harry could probably get away with a backslapping-handshaking existence as a modern equivalent of the Duke of Windsor, on the basis that once a prince, always a prince.”
“But Meghan is a harder sell. She married into royalty, but rejected the life that came with it, much of which is premised on funded philanthropy, while opting to keep the Duchess title and do her own thing. However unfair it feels, there will always be a lingering suspicion that Meghan’s end goal is not the philanthropic mission, but rather the Sussex brand,” she added.
