Having ones' name embedded with some Aristocratic titles may be most people's fantasy. And so does living in a palace, and marrying a prince charming.
This has been in the movies and films, as well as cartoons. It has been etched and imprinted into the minds of almost everyone, since they were young.
But Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has put quite a nail in the coffin of that princess fantasy.
In Oprah Winfrey's Bombshell interview with Prince Harry And Meghan Markle, the Duchess shared that she experienced issues with her mental health, even when she is part of the British royal family.
In her first public comments since she and Harry, the Duke of Sussex, stepped down as senior royals and decided to relocate from the UK to the U.S., she described herself as a victim of a Buckingham Palace that suppressed her personal freedom, and was also worried about how dark the skin of her son Archie would be.
The experiences she had, severely impacted her well-being, resulting in suicidal thoughts that made the Duchess feel she couldn't be left without supervision. She told Oprah:
And making things worse for the Duchess, she tried informing the palace she needed professional help, but was told that she couldn't because "it wouldn't be good for the institution."
Due to her status, her high-profile made her vulnerable about her difficulties.
While most people may be more willing to talk about their issues, Meghan has the status, that made issues like his a shame for the royals to share.
As the Duchess of Sussex, she struggles in silence because people don't expect her to burden other people with her pain.
More or less, issues like this can tarnish her royalty, something that the royals don't expect to ever happen to one of their members.
As a result, Meghan was trapped and felt that she lost hope.
In the interview, Meghan re-emphasized some of the challenges to getting support that should be universal, regardless of status.
During the interview, Harry and Meghan also cited a lack of support over invasive press coverage, as well as the royal institution's decision not to give their son Archie a title, and with it his eligibility for protection, as the basis for their decision to relocate from the UK.
Following and responding to Harry and Meghan's interview, the Buckingham Palace royals broke their silence, saying in a statement on behalf of the Queen Elizabeth II that allegations of racism made by the Sussexes were concerning and being "taken very seriously."
"The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately."
The statement added that "Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members."
Sources for the royals said that these are family issues, and should at least be given the opportunity to address these issues privately, before Harry and Meghan published them publicly.
Harry and Meghan's interview really showed the differences between the fantasy people have put in inside fictions, and the reality behind palace' doors.
Back in 1981, Harry's mother, Diana Frances Spencer, married Prince Charles. At that time about a billion people in almost a hundred countries tuned into watch the event on TV. And a massive amount of audience also tuned in following Diana's divorce, and later, her tragic death at 36 while being chased by paparazzi in Paris, France.
It has been a popular notion that marrying a handsome royal is the ticket to bliss.
From Disney's Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and many others that tell the story of young women meeting their prince charming, who then carry them off to live happily ever after in their kingdom.
Diana, who was named the Princess of Wales showed that fantasy should remain a fantasy.
And at this time, Meghan, is also showing that facts can be a total contrast to what the fiction people know and expect.
As for Harry himself, he has created a new stereotype of a prince and a husband. As he told Oprah, he is happy to be sitting with Opera and his wide by his side, acknowledging that his own mother had not enjoyed the support of his father, the Prince of Wales, when she faced many of the same challenges as Meghan.
It was also revealed by Prince Harry, that the couple made deals with Netflix and Spotify because of necessity after the royals cut them off financially, following their relocation to the U.S..
Speaking to Oprah, the deals with the two streaming giants were never part of their initial plan.
After deciding to "step down" from his duties as a senior working member of the royal family, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were no longer entitled to certain financial benefits that came with their royal status.
It was only soon after being cut off, that Harry realized he needed to figure out solutions to provide security for his family.
"The Netflixes and Spotifys of it all was never part of the plan," Harry said.
Harry had no choice other than inking the multi-million dollar deals.
Through the deal with Netflix, the couple allows the company to produce exclusive contents, such as documentaries, docu-series, feature films, scripted shows and children’s programming, involving the couple. And as for the multi-year deal with Spotify, it allows the royal duo to produce audio programming via their company Archewell Audio.
The deals are meant for Harry to make money on his own to provide for his family.
"This was never the intention. We’re certainly not complaining, our life is great now, we’ve got a beautiful house, I’ve got a beautiful family. The dogs are really happy," he explained to Oprah.
"At the time during COVID, the suggestion by a friend was ‘What about streamers?’ and we hadn’t thought about it. There were all sorts of different options and from my perspective, I just needed enough money to pay for security to keep my family safe."
"Life is about storytelling," added Meghan. "For us to be able to have storytelling through a truthful lens that is hopefully uplifting is going to be great, knowing how many people that can land with and be able to give a voice to a lot of people that are underrepresented and aren’t really heard."
Harry noted that the only reason they were able to separate from the royal family and live securely prior to the Netflix and Spotify deals, was because of the money inherited to him by his late mother, Princess Diana.
