The Power of Meghan Markle

Irrelevant. Z-list. Pariah. Front page news.

The Duchess of Sussex spent Labor Day Weekend doing something that many of us commoners probably also did this summer: she attended the world tour of a chart-topping singer. At two of Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour performances in Los Angeles on September 1st and September 4th, Meghan…well, she boogied her butt off.

That’s the best way I can describe her appearance, first in a box accompanied by her husband, mother, and long-time friends Genevieve Hillis and Abigail Spencer. And then, for Beyoncé’s Birthday Show, in floor seats with celeb friends like Kelly Rowland, Kerry Washington, and Tyler Perry. (Show biz royalty, some might call them).

The problem? These appearances—and the unbridled joy that radiated from the Duchess in every photo and video that resulted from her L.A. nights out—fly in the face of the version of the story that Meghan’s detractors have tried very hard to get to stick in the past several years.

You know the lines. She’s irrelevant. She’s a pariah in Hollywood. She’s a grifter. She’s nothing but a Z-list actress. No one wants to associate with her, let alone even be associated with her. Her name is worthless.

Ahem…

Yes, because The Times is going to print the name and face of a worthless public figure on their front page. Above the fold, no less.

The simple truth that has revealed itself this week is this: Meghan’s name, and her image, still hold immense power. Over the public, over the industry that she seems ready to take by storm, and over the sad remnants of the British royal reporting circle that have become accustomed to picking at her like vultures.

This isn’t new information. In the Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan, we saw the Duke and Duchess of Sussex recount her horror at dominating the British tabloids and newspapers in her early days as a working royal.

In Episode Four, Harry cited an incident from 2018, when he and Meghan attended the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance in London. This was the time when they were coming into their own as senior working royals, and when it first became clear that their fame in the UK might just eclipse that of Prince William, Catherine, then-Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Charles, and even Queen Elizabeth II.

“The first time that the penny dropped for her, M and I had spent the night in a room in Buckingham Palace,” Harry said. “After an event where every single member of the royal family had been, including the Queen.”

Meghan recounted: “The next morning they’d set up breakfast for Harry and I.”

“And on the front page of The Telegraph, Meghan,” Harry finished.

And they were seated in the second row.

Meghan’s sense of horror at this seems to stem from the belief that she would now take on blame—for others putting her on the front page of their newspaper over other members of the royal family.

“She was like, ‘But it’s not my fault.’" And I said, ‘I know and my mum felt the same way,” Harry explained.

The parallel is clear, and eerie. Diana Spencer and Meghan Markle are the two brightest stars that have entered the Royal Family in the past several decades. Their abilities to connect with and enthrall the public, not just through their fashion but through their work and very personalities, are yet unmatched. (The current Princess of Wales, Catherine, comes close to raising the same level of fascination, but she and Prince William have been afforded the luxury of keeping the public at arm’s length, keeping the public frenzy in check overall).

And this, in a world that is meant to revolve around one central figure, the monarch, is a problem. Their family are supposed to orbit them, much like planets encircling a star, but never eclipse them. Outpace them. Outshine them.

The Duchess of Sussex’s presence at the Renaissance World Tour wasn’t an official royal event, to be entered into the Court Circular. She didn’t enter to a fanfare and a standing, silent crowd. She wasn’t representing a charity, or making nice with a visiting Crown Princess. She was enjoying a night out with her loved ones.

But the fact remains that Meghan’s name gets clicks. Her image has become currency. Her face sells papers, gets our RPM to skyrocket, and brings engagement. And everyone is eager to get a piece.

Recent rumors about her attending Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour (with no photographic evidence to accompany them) reek of fabrication to me. You’re telling me that no Swifties spotted Meg in SoFi stadium? Not a single TikTok was made of her swaying to Lover? Or “jumping out of her chair” to sing You Belong With Me? Yeah, I have to conclude that tabloids or PR staff reporting that she did attend are simply doing what they do best: cashing in.

That’s not to say that the press coverage and briefings are always friendly; far from it. But they are incessant. And they’re prompted by little else than Meghan simply stepping an Aquazzura-clad foot out her front door.

Derangers—that specific brand of capital-R Royalists who have deemed Meghan public enemy number one if their beloved Old World Monarchy is to survive—are understandably confused at this recent demonstration of Meghan’s power. Wasn’t she supposed to be floundering without the Palace backing her? Hadn’t all of her friends abandoned her? Why hasn’t the other shoe dropped?

The idea that she is irrelevant is, quite simply, a delusion. Royal reporters can’t wait to get their stories on Meghan Markle submitted to their editors. “Palace sources” can’t stop briefing about King Charles or Prince William’s latest thoughts on her. The first thing that many casual royal watchers want to discuss with me when they learn what I do is…ask what I think of Meghan. (Even the ones who follow up with, “I can’t stand her.”)

Sorry, world. Meghan is here to stay. And I have a feeling that she’s just getting started with us.