Prince Harry's new girlfriend

[Snowdrop13]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37908788

Poor Harry, he must be thinking any potential wife will be scared off by the extreme media interest. I've never heard of her, is she well known in the US?

 

[LadyMCh]

No. She's not well-known here. The show she's on is well-rated, but not on one of the really big networks here.

I'm kind of in shock that Kensington Palace confirmed they're dating!

Also, scared off? She's been working as an actress since 2002. Maybe she won't mind the media attention?

 

[LLJsmom]

The show is great. Sounds like she has had to stand her ground before. Blah, blah, blah...British tabloids. Another thing that doesn't matter...

 

[AGBF]

I have to say that I am very impressed. I would never have given Prince Harry credit for having the sense to choose this woman (Meghan Markle). Not only did he choose someone unconventional racially and socially (Canadian and divorced), but she has been a feminist all her life. For someone who used to dress up as a Nazi for costume parties, Harry has come a long, long way. He even sincerely seems to want to protect her.

Below are excerpts from an article in "The New York Times".

"LONDON — Prince Harry on Tuesday attacked the “racial undertones” of British news coverage and social media harassment of his new girlfriend, the American actress Meghan Markle.

In an unusual statement, the prince, the 32-year-old grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, said that a line had been crossed in the reporting of his relationship with Ms. Markle, 35, whose mother is black and whose father is white.

'Some of this has been very public,' read the statement, issued in the name of the prince’s spokesman, Jason Knauf. 'The smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.'

The role and behavior of the news media are a particularly sensitive topic for Prince Harry and his brother, Prince William. Their mother, Diana, died in Paris in a 1997 car crash when pursued by paparazzi.

Both princes, who were then 12 and 15, have said that their mother’s death made them wary of the news media, though the royal family has generally been skillful in getting favorable coverage and suppressing scandal.

But internet competition and social media activity have accelerated and coarsened coverage of the prince’s relationship with a divorced, biracial woman who was already in the public eye as an actress.

Since articles surfaced about Ms. Markle’s dating Prince Harry, the British tabloids have expressed surprise that a 'brunette' would be his type and accused her of not being British enough for him.

The Daily Mail ran an article headlined, 'Harry’s girl is (almost) straight outta Compton: Gang-scarred home of her mother revealed — so will he be dropping by for tea?'

The article then wove together various racial stereotypes, lamenting Ms. Markle’s mother’s “gang-scarred” Los Angeles neighborhood of Crenshaw and its “tatty one-story homes,” and listing crime statistics for the area.

Newspapers have been digging up suggestive photographs of Ms. Markle and examining her past relationships, and some comments on their websites and on social media have been explicit and racist.

The prince’s statement, which confirmed his long-rumored relationship with Ms. Markle, expressed fears for her safety and privacy. It noted that his office had regularly fought to keep defamatory articles out of the newspapers — which he said had offered large bribes to her ex-boyfriend.

The statement also condemned the way that news media has invaded Ms. Markle’s privacy and doorstepped her mother.

In one instance, a palace official said a photographer had chased an assistant to Ms. Markle through the garage of her home in Toronto. The photographer had to be physically removed and the police called, the official said.

One article in the tabloid The Sun was about Ms. Markle’s appearing on Pornhub, an adult website, even though the 'steamy scenes,' as the newspaper called them, were not pornography but taken from a television series she acts in, 'Suits.'

The Sun also ran a headline above an interview with Ms. Markle’s estranged sister, saying, 'Don’t fall for my little sis, Harry, she’d be the next Princess Pushy,' a reference to the unkind nickname for Princess Michael of Kent.

One comment piece in last weekend’s Mail on Sunday, by Rachel Johnson, said of Ms. Markle: 'Genetically, she is blessed. If there is issue from her alleged union with Prince Harry, the Windsors will thicken their watery, thin blue blood and Spencer pale skin and ginger hair with some rich and exotic DNA.”

Ms. Markle described herself as 'biracial' in an August 2015 interview with Elle magazine, saying, 'My dad is Caucasian and my mom is African-American. I’m half black and half white.' The essay also discussed some of the racism she has experienced as a result.

Afua Hirsch, writing in The Guardian, said: 'It’s a subtle point, easily missed. Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s apparent new love, is a 'glamorous brunette,' a departure from Prince Harry’s usual type and ‘not in the society blonde style of previous girlfriends,’ according to The Daily Mail. I think what they are trying to say is that Markle, actor, global development ambassador and lifestyle blogger, is black.”

Even more scandalous to the tabloids, wrote Ms. Hirsch, is that Ms. Markle is older, divorced, played somewhat 'raunchy scenes' in 'Suits' and that 'her mother is visibly black, with dreadlocks.'"

Link...http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/world/europe/prince-harry-girlfriend-meghan-markle.html

 

[Snowdrop13]

There was a view that his previous relationships (with Chelsea and Cressida) faltered because they couldn't or wouldn't deal with all the media interest. I'm sure you're right, that Meghan will be in a better position to cope with it, she's a bit older too which might help. She seems like a really interesting woman, I hope things go well for them. She does look very like Pippa Middleton, though!

 

[telephone89]

I heard the rumours a little while back, and I absolutely LOVE her.

I thought she was pretty well known, but maybe just up in Canada haha. She's the spokesmodel for Reitmans, also on the show Suits (available on Netflix if you haven't seen it!).

 

[LLJsmom]

I have to say that I am very impressed. I would never have given Prince Harry credit for having the sense to choose this woman (Meghan Markle). Not only did he choose someone unconventional racially and socially (Canadian and divorced), but she has been a feminist all her life. For someone who used to dress up as a Nazi for costume parties, Harry has come a long, long way. He even sincerely seems to want to protect her.

These British tabloids are so ignorant and insignificant. She could be "outta" anywhere. Who the hell cares about the opinion of total meaningless people/magazines/gossip? Hope she's got the tough skin to completely ignore and eradicate them from her consciousness.

 

[momhappy]

No. She's not well-known here. The show she's on is well-rated, but not on one of the really big networks here.

I'm kind of in shock that Kensington Palace confirmed they're dating!

Also, scared off? She's been working as an actress since 2002. Maybe she won't mind the media attention?

I had never see/heard of her before, but she seems lovely.
As an actress, I would agree that the media spotlight might not be quite as intimidating...although, dating royalty kind of kicks it up a notch

 

[kenny]

They've asked for less attention ... so, I'll not post any more about them.