Why King Charles Will Honor Someone Featured In Harry And Meghan's Controversial Netflix Show
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, may have made their exit from the royal family years ago, but it continues to have ripple effects as we learn more details about Harry and Meghan's treatment by the monarchy. It started with their 2021 sit-down interview with Oprah where we first learned that Meghan faced racism from within the royal institution and was denied mental health care (via The New York Times).
The curtain was pulled back even further in 2022 when Harry and Meghan debuted their Netflix docuseries, "Harry & Meghan." In the series, Meghan and Harry reveal various arguments and betrayals by those closest to them, including King Charles and William, Prince of Wales. When Harry and Meghan were first considering leaving the royal family, they were hoping to make a move to Canada, a plan that King Charles' office soon revealed to the press. "It became clear that the institution leaked the fact that we were going to move back to Canada, and the key piece of that story that made me aware that the contents of the letter between me and my father had been leaked was that we were willing to relinquish our Sussex titles. That was the giveaway," Harry explained in the docuseries (via People).
In addition to revealing commentary from Harry and Meghan, the series also features talking heads like friends of theirs, as well as experts who spoke to the complicated role the monarchy plays (via the Independent).
An OBE for a critic of British history
Given the revelations in "Harry & Meghan," the Netflix series about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, one would think that the royal family would want nothing to do with those involved. Yet King Charles is awarding one of its commentators, historian and professor David Olusoga, with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his "services to history and to community integration" (via Express).
Author of the book "Black and British" and a professor at the University of Manchester, much of Olusoga's work is concerned with the history of slavery in the United Kingdom. Olusoga's commentary in the "Harry & Meghan" docuseries explains Meghan and Harry's royal story in the context of Brexit; the U.K. officially withdrew from the European Union around the same time that Meghan and Harry broke away from royal life (via The New York Times).
Olusoga says in the docuseries that Harry and Meghan's story was "embedding itself in a nation that is having a pretty toxic debate about the European Union." He also criticizes the U.K. for glossing over its history of slavery and discusses the central role race played in the Brexit decision, providing important commentary on race relations in the country.
Olusoga's impact is well-known in the U.K.; he's previously been honored with the British Academy's President's Medal, alongside Hilary Mantel, Margaret Atwood, and Jane Goodall (via The Guardian).