Prince Harry ‘drags’ Meghan Markle into spotlight
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex dragged his pregnant wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex onstage during WE Day in London.
British journalist Angela Levin believes Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not coping well with the stresses of the spotlight after their recent tour of southern Africa, where they candidly spoke out about the pressures of royal life in a shocking documentary.
“I think [Harry] feels and looks incredibly miserable and unhappy,” Levin told Sky News on Thursday, as reported by UK’s Daily Mail.
“Meghan is unhappy, too, and it seems incredibly sad that they can’t seem to help each other at the moment,” she added.
Levin, a veteran reporter on royal affairs, published a biography in 2018 titled “Harry: A Biography of a Prince,” which is based on her exclusive conversation with the 35-year-old before he married the former American actress in May 2018. Levin had accompanied Harry on his many engagements and shadowed him for more than a year.
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Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex visit District 6 Museum on Sep. 23, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. The pair are reportedly considering a move to Africa after a bitter battle with public life in the U.K. (Getty)
Most recently, Levin released a paperback version of her book, which takes a closer look at Harry’s marriage to the 38-year-old. For her newest release, Levin had access to numerous sources who had insider knowledge of the couple.
Levin says Harry's distress stems from retracing his beloved mother’s steps in Angola earlier this month. Princess Diana of Wales died in 1997 at age 36 from injuries she sustained in a car crash in Paris.
During her lifetime, Diana was ruthlessly hounded by the paparazzi.
“It seems unfortunate now,” Levin explained. “He is having another wave of agony over his mother, Princess Diana. The trip was going to be very difficult as he was retracing his mother’s steps.”
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Prince Harry shadowed his late mother Princess Diana of Wales' footsteps during his royal tour of southern African. (Getty)
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Levin also suggested there is more to the couple’s “unhappiness,” as it was witnessed in their documentary.
The pair participated in the ITV documentary “Harry & Meghan: An African Journey,” which debuted in the UK on Sunday. They both spoke out about how the negative press attention has hurt them as a family.
In the documentary, Harry told British journalist Tom Bradby that Diana was on his mind while embarking on his royal tour of southern Africa alongside the Duchess of Sussex and their son Archie.
“Look, part of this job and part of any job, like anybody, means putting on a brave face and turning a cheek to a lot of the stuff,” he explained. “But again, for me and for my wife, of course, there’s a lot of stuff that hurts — especially when the majority of it is untrue.”
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend a reception for young people, community and civil society leaders at the Residence of the British High Commissioner, during the royal tour of South Africa on September 24, 2019, in Cape Town, South Africa. ((Photo by Facundo Arrizabalaga - Pool/Getty Images)
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“But all we need to do is focus on being real, focus on being the people we are and standing up for what we believe in,” continued Harry. “I will not be bullied into playing a game that killed my mom.”
Markle also told Bradby she hopes the public will one day just focus on the positive: the love the couple has for each other.
“I would hope that people, the world, will get to the point where they just see us as a couple who’s in love because I don’t wake up every day and identify as being anything other than who I’ve always been,” said the former “Suits” star.”
“It’s just, I’m Meghan and I’ve married this incredible man and this to me is just part of our love story,” she noted.
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Britain's Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle hold their baby son Archie as they meet with Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town on Sep. 25, 2019. The British royal couple is on a 10-day tour of southern Africa -- their first official visit as a family since their son Archie was born in May. (Getty)
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In the documentary, Bradby asked the Duchess of Sussex how she’s coping with the lack of privacy and ruthless tabloid rumors as a new parent, to which the former American actress replied she takes “each day as it comes.”
“I think the grass is always greener,” said Markle. “You have no idea. It’s really hard to understand what it’s like. I know what it seems like it should be, but it’s a very different thing.”
Markle said she and Harry have had conversations about being in the spotlight and all the negativity that comes with it.
“I have said for a long time to H, that’s what I call him, ‘It’s not enough to just survive something,’” said Markle. "'That’s not the point of life. You have to thrive. You have got to feel happy.’ I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a ‘stiff upper life.’ I really tried, but I think that what that does internally is probably really damaging.”
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Meghan Markle's alleged request for privacy has sparked a fiery debate on social media. (AP)
The royal went on to tell Bradby she would be more understanding about the scrutiny if it were fair.
“I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair,” said Markle. “And that’s the part that’s really hard to reconcile.”
In August of this year, Levin told Fox News that Markle’s journey of being the newest member of the British royal family has been far from smooth sailing.
“I think it’s very hard for her,” said Levin at the time. “I think she’s done brilliantly at some things. She’s marvelous when they are out and about. She’s very good at talking to people. It’s an awful lot to learn and she’s very energetic and keen. But it might be good for her if she took a little bit more advice. Before in her life, she was very used to making her own decisions. I do think it’s very difficult for her. This is a very strict, traditional path. It takes a while to get used to it.”
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in New Zealand. (Getty)
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“In the early stages, I don’t think the duchess really understood the difference between being a show business person and being a member of the royal family,” Levin explained. “Prince Harry was very anxious when we spoke originally and said he didn’t want to be thought of like a show business person. His feeling about being royal was that it was about duty, it was about helping the queen and that it was a very serious job. But the line has been a very narrow one, I think.”
Fox News’ Mariah Haas contributed to this report.
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