Meghan Markle Was Deeply Offended By Her First Magazine Cover For This Alarming Reason
Meghan Markle's recent cover and accompanying interview for The Cut made headlines for many reasons. Not only did the royal share she may go back on Instagram, but Meghan's comparison of herself to Nelson Mandela had the late former South African president's grandson up in arms.
Flash back to 2017 and it was another magazine cover featuring the Duchess of Sussex that had everyone talking. That time, Meghan appeared on Vanity Fair's October cover. Her interview would mark the first time the then-actress publicly commented on her relationship with Prince Harry, which obviously had tongues wagging all over the world (via Us Weekly).
"We're a couple. We're in love," the soon-to-be bride told the outlet. "I'm sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time." She went on to confirm that the eventual royal family defectors were "happy."
But it turns out that Meghan was very unhappy about the Vanity Fair cover itself for a very disturbing reason.
Meghan felt racially targeted by the headline
Indeed, in 2017, Meghan Markle was reportedly set up with a cover for Vanity Fair that the royal family was excited about too (via Daily Mail). According to Valentine Low, the author of a new book, "Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown," which doesn't paint the Duchess of Sussex in the most flattering light, claiming she was verbally abusive to staff, the issue's headline upset the duchess greatly.
"She's Just Wild About Harry," the cover read, offending Meghan and Prince Harry because they perceived that sentiment as having racist undertones. They pointed to the 1939 movie "Babes in Arms," which featured the song "I'm Just Wild About Harry." The number was performed by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney and dancers in blackface.
Reportedly, Meghan tried to get the headline changed online, but to no avail. Low claims the Duchess of Sussex also despised the photos in the piece, with an unnamed source telling Low, "She thought the story was negative. She was upset that it was about Harry, not about her."
The entire piece was a failure
According to an excerpt from The Times of London, the Duchess of Sussex had been told by royal handlers not to talk about her romance with Prince Harry when she sat down with Vanity Fair in 2017 (via New York Post). So, when the magazine was published and seemed to focus on the relationship, Meghan Markle was irate.
In fact, she'd reportedly believed the story would be about the 100th episode of "Suits" and not her being hot for Harry — or more accurately, "Just Wild About Harry."
Ultimately, it seems the issue was a failure all around, with the worst part being that the royal felt the high-profile publication was racially insensitive, treatment Meghan would later be cruelly exposed to again, but this time, at the hands of her very own in-laws on the subject of her son Archie's skin tone.