It has long been asked if the Duchess of Sussex was “silenced” in her role as a senior royal after becoming Prince Harry’s wife.
Meghan Markle was asked the question directly in her interview with Oprah but the topic has often been a source of debate amongst royal commentators.
Some claim that the notion of being “silenced” is preposterous for a woman who often gives speeches, whilst others sympathise that being the wife of the King’s son means that very often you are unable to speak freely.
Meghan was asked by Oprah during her bombshell interview in early 2021 if she was “silent or being silenced” to which Meghan replied: “The latter”.
However, one royal writer believes that Meghan has given a more direct and revealing opinion on the subject before the TV chat, which often gets overlooked.
Meghan is said to have reportedly asked, “Don’t I have a voice?” at a royal event in 2020, which she attended with her husband Prince Harry, according to Mail on Sunday columnist Sarah Sands.
The incident is said to have happened at an event with the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Ms Sands said that it was at that moment that Meghan “icily” muttered the question under her breath, and was heard only by those within earshot.
The expert claimed: “Meghan’s ‘ordeal’ in Britain was, to her mind, the subjugation of her voice.
A colleague who was at a broadcast by the Royal Family’s short-lived Fab Four – how poignant it is to recall the two couples looking so happy together – remembers the microphone moving down the line: William…Kate…Harry… Meghan, at the end of the line was disinclined to wait. ‘Don’t I have a voice?’ she asked, icily.”
Speaking at the time that the couple’s blockbuster deal with Netflix was announced, Ms Sands comments that: “At last, she can be heard, loud and clear. It’s obvious that she feels delighted to be home again.”
The Netflix deal was said to be worth an approximate $150 million. One of the programmes released as part of this multi-year deal was the docu-series Harry & Meghan, in which the couple speak candidly about their life and feelings towards certain senior members of the Royal Family.
