Racism, Tabloids Could Drive Prince Harry, Meghan Markle to Canada

The world has been watching the tumult among British royalty as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, announced a decision to step back from their roles as senior members of the royal family.

According to experts on the royal family, the news is a big deal not just because of the departure from the norm, but also because of the reasons behind the move.

Click the player above to hear Toronto Sun columnist Brad Hunter and author Alyssa Cole discuss the motivations behind the royal’s move.

Reports about the decision say that one of the big reasons behind it is the treatment the couple has received from by the British press, and specifically its racially-charged treatment of Markle, who is African-American. 

Queen Elizabeth says she supports the couple’s decision to live a more independent life and part of that will mean living in North America part time. One potential new home? Our neighbors to the north (and, in Detroit, south), Canada.

“There’s race and how it’s driving negativity toward the couple, paired with what the Prince has already gone through with his mother who was killed by the media.” – Alyssa Cole, author

Toronto Sun columnist Brad Hunter joins Detroit Today host Stephen Henderson to discuss the implications of the couple’s possible move to Canada.

Alyssa Cole, a romance writer who authored a recent piece in the Washington Post about her view on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s relationship through the lens of the British aristocracy and race. 

“There’s two different views, but Canada was the UK’s oldest colony and there’s a significant amount of good will to the royal family here,” says Hunter.

He notes that the move to Canada could have appeal for Markle in a career sense, as well as the more calm media landscape when it comes to reporting on celebrities.

“I think they are so anxious to break free of the family they aren’t worried about the financial implications.” – Brad Hunter, Toronto Sun

“There’s 12 newspapers in London which is unthinkable today in North America, and they are voracious competitors,” says Hunter of the British tabloids that have been merciless to the British royals. Additionally, the finances could get interesting for the couple according to Hunter, but “I think they are so anxious to break free of the family they aren’t worried about the financial implications.”

Cole says it was clear to her that race would always be an issue. As soon as the couple began dating, Cole says she recalls that people started reporting on it and commenting on it.

“There’s race and how it’s driving negativity toward the couple and that’s paired with what the Prince has already gone through himself with his mother who was literally killed by the media,” says Cole. She also notes that within the British monarchy “there’s a sense of purity and white aristocracy.”

Not unlike the long history of racism in America, Cole says there are still a lot of “unresolved issues with [race in the UK] and a lot of those are playing out in the way that Meghan is covered: she’s shown as difficult, demanding, pushy and sexual.”