Black Woman in Royal Family

Horrified traditionalists blame the uppity, black American wife. Harry was their darling, Officer Prince till the hussy got under his skin and into his head and heart. The best-selling English novelist Sir Philip Pullman named and shamed their racism in a tweet and concluded: “What a foul country this is.” So why should they not escape from it?

When Harry wed Meghan in 2018, the sun shone, birds sang, crowds cheerfully waved their wee Union flags. The whole world loves performative British royal weddings, but this one came loaded with symbolism. Idealistic white people and minorities whipped up fantasies about a post-racial and post-colonial nirvana. For biracial Bernardine Evaristo, co-winner with Margaret Atwood of the Booker Prize, the marriage was as significant as Barack Obama winning the U.S. presidency: “It’s a sign of how far we have come as a nation.”

Not quite, not at all.

We realists were wary of the mass buoyancy and delusions. As I wrote in Newsweek in May 2018, “The family and country [Markle] is joining are not what they appear to be.” Most Americans don’t know the U.K.’s true history, its politics and society. To them, this is a fun kingdom of crowns and grand houses, quaint traditions, country pubs, Richard Curtis movies and, also, great pop music and counterculture rebels. I assume this is what the lovely and talented Meghan thought she was coming into.

The couple met in July 2016, just a month after the June Brexit referendum, which split the nation irrevocably. Overt hostility against immigrants and Britons of color leached out from those cracks. Brexiters declared a culture war on diversity, equality and liberal values. The public space, which had got more civil over the decades, turned nasty, felt unsafe for those of us who had roots elsewhere. Meghan, black, modern, feminist, was a loadstone for seething xenophobes, macho men and some hateful women too.

During the buildup to the wedding, prejudiced journalists opined that she was more mistress than wife material or that she was from the “wrong side of the tracks.” One male commentator told me he believed voodoo had been used by the “sorceress”. Harry objected to the unfair treatment of his fiancée. That only encouraged the brutes. Meanwhile, palace enforcers started pulling feathers from her wings: She was to quit social media, learn to not be herself, to be a royal. I felt for her and wanted her to fly off then.

After the wedding, there was a brief lull, and then the hounds began barking and nipping again. Everything she did was wrong. Meghan likes avocado on toast, so a newspaper accuses her of encouraging murder and droughts; she wears jeans to Wimbledon, so offends turgid All England Club members; as guest editor of one issue of Vogue, she celebrates inspirational women for the cover, but not the queen, scream crazed monarchists, and so it goes on. Social media attacks have been even more toxic. Conservative courtiers too recoil from this Duchess, who is demanding and knows her own mind.

This woman turned Harry from a wild, partying young man to a responsible and sensitive adult who talks about his mental health and his beloved mum. He, for his part, just wants to protect his wife from the dark powers that crushed his mother. Diana was a naïve, damaged, trusting young woman picked to breed by Charles and his then-mistress, Camilla. She would be alive today if she had refused the arranged marriage. (She did try to get out int the days before the wedding but was pushed to go ahead.) Meghan is no Diana, but there are similarities, mainly openness, inclusivity and vulnerability. Such women have no place in our undemocratic royal family, which is often arrogant, greedy, self-serving and cold.

In December’s issue of the Tatler magazine, I speculated that 2020 would be crunch time for Britain, as well as Harry and Meghan. After we leave Europe at the end of January, I predict more racism and white nationalism on these isles. The Sussexes will escape all that for half the year. Good first decision. Diana left her boys money. Next, they should liberate themselves from all royal trappings and live happily ever after. Good luck, guys. May the force be with you.

YASMIN ALIBHAI-BROWN is an award-winning journalist who has written for The Independent, The Guardian, The Observer, The Sunday Times, the Daily Mail and The New York Times. Currently, she is a columnist for i newspaper, the International Business Times and The New European. She has twice been voted the 10th most influential Asian in Britain. The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

mutiny against sth – buntować się przeciw czemuś

vicious media

outlets– okrutni przedstawiciele mediów

disparager– osoba krytykująca coś w sposób lekceważący

uppity– arogancki, zarozumiały

hussy – bezwstydnica, lafirynda

whip up fantasies – snuć fantazje

be wary of sth – być nieufnym wobec czegoś

buoyancy – optymizm

quaint traditions – niezwykłe/osobliwe tradycje

split the nation irrevocably – nieodwracalnie podzielić naród

overt hostility– jawna wrogość

leach out from cracks – przen. wypływać z rozłamów

loadstone – dosł. magnetyt [tutaj: kozioł ofiarny]

seething xenophobes – kipiący ze złości ksenofobowie

prejudiced journalists– uprzedzeni dziennikarze

sorceress – czarodziejka

pull feather from the wings – podcinać skrzydła

brief lull – chwila ciszy

nip – szczypać, kąsać

turgid – nadęty

conservative

courtiers – konserwatywni dworzanie

recoil– odsuwać się

vulnerability– wrażliwość, bezbronność

crunch time – krytyczny moment

royal trappings – królewskie atrybuty

Listen to the recording and answer the following questions:

1. What decision did Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently make?

2. Who do monarchists blame for breaking with royal tradition? Why?

3. How do people feel in general about royal weddings and what hopes did they put into Harry and Meghan’s marriage?

4. According to the author, what changes have occurred amongst the British as a result of the Brexit referendum?

5. What negative comments did Megan face in the British press before and after her wedding with Prince Harry?

6. In the author’s opinion, what influence has Megan had on Harry?

7. What future does the author predict for Britain after Brexit?

1. According to the video, how does the royal family feel about Harry and Meghan’s decision to remove themselves from the family?

2. How did the Duke and Duchess of Sussex inform the public about their decision?

3. Where are they planning to live?

4. What might be the reasons for stepping down from their roles as senior royals?

5. According to the video, how has Prince Harry changed since he married Meghan?

Describe the issue presented in the article. Use the expressions listed below. They will help you give structure to the text analysis.

key words:

Meghan Markle

Royal Family

culture war

Brexit

collocations with positive meaning:

grand houses

inspirational women

sensitive adult

beloved mum

trusting young woman

collocations with negative meaning:

vicious media outlets

counterculture rebels

seething xenophobes

prejudiced journalists

crazed monarchists

undemocratic royal family

action verb phrases:

shame somebody’s racism

split the nation irrevocably

pull feathers from someone’s wings

quit social media

refuse the arranged marriage

liberate oneself from royal trappings

Record your text analysis on a voice recorder or practice delivering your presentation in a group setting.

Examples:

In a totally unanticipated public statement, the Duke…

Horrified traditionalists blame…

When Harry wed Meghan in 2018,…

Translate the sentences below using the suggested word or phrase. (see Key)

(mutinied) W całkowicie nieoczekiwanym publicznym oświadczeniu książę i księżna Sussexu zbuntowali się przeciwko monarchicznej instytucji.

(blame) Przerażeni tradycjonaliści obarczają winą arogancką afroamerykańską żonę.

(wed … wee … Union) Kiedy Harry poślubiał Meghan w 2018 r., słońce świeciło, ptaki śpiewały, tłumy wesoło machały maleńkimi brytyjskimi flagami.

(whipped up) Biali idealiści oraz mniejszości snuły fantazje o postrasowej i postkolonialnej nirwanie.

(wary) My, realiści, byliśmy nieufni wobec tego masowego optymizmu i urojeń.

You can use your translations in your presentation of the topic (in Task 6).

Continue the translation using the suggested word or phrase. Remember: It’s not about translating these sentences perfectly—there are a number of possible ways to translate each sentence. This task aims to teach you TO THINK IN ENGLISH. By working on your translation of a sentence, you can change it to get closer to the sense of the original (see Key).

Para poznała się w lipcu 2016 r., zaledwie miesiąc po the June Brexit referendum, które nieodwracalnie podzieliło naród.

Brexiters wypowiedzieli a culture war on różnorodności, równości i liberalnym wartościom.

Meghan, czarna, współczesna feministka, was a loadstone for kipiących ze złości ksenofobów, macho men i niektórych pełnych nienawiści kobiet too.

Podczas the buildup do ślubu uprzedzeni dziennikarze opined that she was more mistress niż materiałem na żonę.

Ta kobieta zmieniła Harry’ego z dzikiego, partying young man w odpowiedzialnego i wrażliwego adult, który mówi o swoim zdrowiu psychicznym i ukochanej mamie.

You can use your translations in your presentation of the topic (in Task 6).

Now it’s time to put forward your views on the issues. Record your speech on a voice recorder or practice presenting your opinion in a group setting. Consider the issues raised in the text from these viewpoints:

Cultural: Royal Family

In Britain, the Royal Family is…

So, when the Duke…

Personal: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex

From a newly-wed couple’s perspective…

They chose a little more freedom for…

Social: Brexit

It didn’t help that Britain is…

The socio-political situation of the country is…

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