Meghan writes about ‘The 10 Women Who Changed My Life’

Meghan writes about ‘The 10 Women Who Changed My Life’

Between shooting Suits and vacationing with Prince Harry and going quiet on social media, Meghan Markle is mostly MIA these days. She hasn’t done many interviews or writing for magazines since her relationship with Harry became public, but now she’s taken to Glamour to write about her Top 10 list of her most inspirational women.

The piece is done in list form, where Meghan writes why she chose each woman. I’ve edited Glamour’s formatting slightly here, but the words are direct quotes.

“1. Dian Fossey (Primatologist) – Two years ago, when I was in Rwanda, I made it my mission to see the mountain gorillas [protected by the Fossey Fund]. If it weren’t for her, these animals could be extinct.

“2. Bonnie Hammer (Chairman, NBCUniversal; Cable Entertainment Group) – My character on Suits wasn’t written as a biracial freckled girl, but Bonnie has always been committed to color-blind casting. It’s one thing to have respect for your boss, but it’s another to have the kind of respect that comes with feeling comfortable.

“3. Rosie the Riveter (World War II icon) – Growing up, I had a poster in my room of Rosie flexing her biceps. When I was in grade school, I saw this sexist commercial for dish soap. With Rosie’s ‘We can do it!’ mantra in mind, I wrote a letter to Procter & Gamble, Hillary Clinton, and Nick News anchor Linda Ellerbee, who sent a camera crew to meet me. Guess what? They changed the commercial.

“4. Madeleine Albright (Former U.S. Secretary of State) – I double majored with inter- national relations as one of my concentrations at Northwestern, so I’ve always been drawn to that world. Albright was the first female secretary of state for the U.S., the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., an author, and a mom—and she seemingly juggled it all with finesse.

“5. Joni Mitchell (Musician) – I travel so much for work, press, and life that anytime I land back at LAX, Joni Mitchell’s ‘California’ plays in my head. It’s become this anthem of happiness for me whenever I’m feeling homesick.

“6. Alice Waters (Chef and food activist) – When Alice Waters opened [her Berkeley, California, restaurant] Chez Panisse, locally grown, seasonal food was not the norm. So much of the way that I approach eating and cooking is because of her.

“7. Julia Roberts (Actress) – She was the first person I saw onscreen and thought, That looks like so much fun; I wanna do that. When I was younger, someone once told me, ‘You kind of look like Julia Roberts in profile.’ It was the best compliment of all time.

“8. Toni Morrison (Novelist) – In college I took a class on the works of Toni Morrison. The first time I read The Bluest Eye, I thought, Wow! She creates this world for you that you get to feel a part of.

“9. Suhani Jalota (Entrepreneur) – Suhani, whom I met at Glamour’s 2016 College Women of the Year awards luncheon awards luncheon, started Myna Mahila Foundation [a network of women who make and sell sanitary products in India]. I’m incredibly moved by someone who is so eager to help change the lives of others, especially women.

“10. Doria Ragland (My mother) – My mom’s a yoga instructor, but she does social work, as well, and she works specifically with the geriatric community. For me to watch this level of life-long sensitivity to nurturing and caregiving, but at the same time my mom has always been a free spirit. She’s got dread locks and a nose ring. She just ran the LA Marathon. We can just have so much fun together, and yet, I’ll still find so much solace in her support. That duality coexists the same way it would in a best friend.”

[Glamour]

One’s top 10 inspirational people list can be very telling about who one is, or at least who one wants other people to think one is. For example, my top 10 inspirational women list would be very different from Meghan’s, consisting mostly of JK Rowling and Agatha Christie.

From what I know about Meghan, she has all of her bases covered in this list, and is reiterating the image she’s been cultivating for years: Africa; Suits; that soap commercial story she keeps repeating; her international relations double major; that she’s from Los Angeles; sustainable, organic food; acting in general; women in India; her mom. The only topic that I wouldn’t have predicted is Toni Morrison’s work.

I’m not sure why this list was published now, but the the article did plug the 100th episode of Suits that airs on August 30th, so maybe this is just promotion for Suits.


70 thoughts on “Meghan writes about ‘The 10 Women Who Changed My Life’

  1. She has spoken and written about taking a class on Tony Morrison books and poems before while in college. Gosh, I can not tell you how much reading “the bluest eyes” by Tony Morrison changed me as a person!! Tony books in general are not easy reads, in that it requires you to pay attention to every single word she writes. It’s a mental excersice, it forces you to think, think deep about self acceptance. Especially in the racially charged and female empowerment time we are living in, I highly recommend it!

    1. Ah, then that’s just my lack of knowledge about Meghan. My point stands even more then, that she hit all her typical talking points with this list.

      1. Oh yes girl … she has an agenda and a message, and the image she wants to craft. It’s like, I am okay with you knowing this and this about me… the rest none of your business. Someone pointed out to me, that in all her interviews pre-Harry, you never see or hear her talk about her husband, or her boyfriend… just the points you listed above… one of my good friend is like that; some people have know her for years and knows only the bullet points she is okay with them knowing- rinse and repeat- when I see her repeating the same story and facts about herself to people… l know that is how far she would allowed them to get even if it’s what they have heard it before.

        1. Hi Sunfutravel, is it just me or has crafting an image of oneself taken on a negative connotation? I’m not implying that you, in any way, are saying or implying this, but since you wrote such an interesting bit on it, I thought I’d ask. I think almost every person, famous or not, has an image of themselves that they are comfortable with, an image that they present to others as their true selves. But it seems to me that lately, the discussion about image, branding, messages, etc has turned more negative as though those images, brandings or messages are fake. Perhaps we’ve become a society who is so used to seeing people “letting it all hang out”, that when someone decides to hold a bit of themselves back, to keep a bit of their lives private we continue to insist that they show us every bit of themselves.

          1. I think crafting one’s image has taken on a negative connotation in recent years specifically because of Hollywood and social media. Hollywood people do this all the time, and a lot of the time it’s incredibly fake and not who they are at all, and then they’ll do something that will show how fake their image is and people balk at that. And so many people on social media create a fake image of themselves to present. I think that fakeness from those types of people have created that negative connotation.

            But creating an image of oneself isn’t necessarily bad, fake, or incorrect. You can craft an image of yourself that is entirely truthful and honest.

        2. She actually talked about this in an interview. It was about The Tig and how she posts personal stuff on there, but not private things. She said that while she was okay with sharing her personal thoughts on some things, her private life like family, closest friends an partner were something she didn’t really want to share. That’s actually pretty smart. People don’t need to know everything about a person. She is sharing what she is comfortable sharing with. People who have read some of her interviews or posts will have already known many of these things, but those aren’t necessarily Glamour’s audience.

          1. But if she talks just about things that aren’t her true self, what is the point in talking anyway? She could write a book “How to present yourself in the best light”.

  2. Maybe these selections aren’t the most original or fit a certain image she wants to present, but at the end of the day it is an image she is controlling. She is a fully functional adult woman who isn’t ok with being a cipher and clothes hanger. It will be interesting to see how she deals with the restrictions imposed by being in the BRF, but she is still going to offer a lot more than simply being known as Harry’s wife. Because really that is all the other one is. After six years there is still no real interest in certain areas of charity or causes or anything. She is like a teenager being forced to do the bare minimum. (William too). While all the Diana documentaries and stories are becoming a bit much, at the end of the day Diana was a woman who while not perfect, actually did something to help improve the lives of those with much less. She used her privilege for good. You can’t say that about Will and Kate. And if Meghan has ideas and goals and causes she has an interest in pursuing, that can never be criticized or dismissed, because it is a hell of a lot more than the Cambridges are doing.

    1. I don’t understand the need to bring up Kate just to cut her down when she is not relevant to the topic. Kate is not relevant to Meghan’s list of inspirational women and how Meghan’s choices for her list reflect the image she’s been cultivating for years.

      I disagree with you about your last sentence. Kate being lazy or not offering much personality doesn’t make commenting on Meghan’s talking points and image off limits.

    2. Nope? Not st all negative as far as I am concerned Lauri… to me it shows she is smart

  3. I was very impressed by this list–as it paints Megan as a well-rounded, well-read, thoughtful lady who definitely has causes she supports. Her mom sounds like a lady I would love to hang out with–a yoga instructor who is a social worker as well. How impressive! I see Meghan ‘s kind and compassionate side from her mom. There have been quite a few articles on the Daily Mail, KMR, actually daily. Today, they talked about her ancestry, and it was fascinating. They are definitely starting to really build her up in the press–so it really looks like they will get married. All the negative jabs in the Daily Mail are gone now. I am really happy about that because it really upset me the way the press and people attacked her. She seems lovely and a great match for Harry. Harry really is lucky finding her; he better not let her get away!

    1. “All the negative jabs in the Daily Mail are gone now.”

      Far from it. The serialisation in the fail over the past week has been filled with the usual dog whistles & condescending tone. They attacked everything from her background, parents, and even suggested more than once that she is a social climber who uses men.

  4. Thanks for such a great post MMR!!

    I’m impressed with the wide range of women who inspire her. It seems to me that each woman listed is trying to make a difference in her own world (and thereby making a difference in the world at large) and doing it her own way, I hope that Meghan can continue to do the same. Reading her story about the lack of sanitary products for women in different parts of the world is just heartbreaking.

    On a lighter subject, I just received my JCrew lace up sandals like the ones Meghan wore on her trip to Botswana. I got the cedar colored pair and they are so cute!!!! The foot bed is pretty hard and the little tabs that hold the straps around the foot are a bit stiff but I think as I wear them more they will loosen up and be super comfortable.

  5. People’s inspirations are so subjective which makes it hard to criticise because we are all unique and who knows what will speak to our souls.

    That said, i object to 2 people on her list for very different reasons. Not because she chose them.

    1. Toni Morrison….great writer, not a great person. Personal experience.

    2. Madeleine Albright. As much as i laud her achievement for breaking that glass ceiling of being the first female secretary of state, i can’t laud her for the decisions she enforced whether those were her choice or the govt’s choice as secretary of state.

    I’m all for female advancement, girl power etc, but do we have to be as terrible humans as the men?

    1. This list wasn’t “10 women who inspire me” but rather “10 women who changed my life.”

      How did Madeline Albright change Meghan’s life?! Toni Morrison I get… she changed my life too she just doesn’t crack the top ten.

      1. But mentioning Madeleine Albright makes Meghan look so educated, thoughtful, intelligent and progressive!

        I think it’s all just playing to Meghan’s PR including her charity work. Look how important and charitable and smart I am. All actors do it. I don’t think any of it is genuine with her or 95% of Hollywood.

        I don’t dislike Meghan, I just side-eye all her charity stuff or her talking about things like this since it’s just re-iterating talking points and trying to paint her as a certain way. Some of these are pretty ridiculous like Dian Fossey, really, and Joni Mitchell, the others are the usual ‘Look at women I admire 101’ from Hollywood imo.

        Just like the royals and their brilliant PR people. lol

        1. She has mentioned Madeleine Albright before either in an interview or on social media. Maybe she was just really impressed by her? Maybe it’s her list and she can mention whoever she wants to mention? This woman can’t do anything right these days.

          1. Thank you for this post. ++++++ 10,000,000. As one famous person once said, if you don’t like what they selling, why even stop to check it out and then turn around and bash them for putting garbage on display? One’s trash is another’s treasure, c’est la vie; at the end of the day, its Meghan’s list. If I don’t like reading anything (I deeply despise Melania Trump and I never ever click on anything concerning her) about anyone, I just don’t click on anything regarding them instead of rolling my eyes till they hurt, why put myself through that over someone that don’t even know I exist.

          2. But I do like what Meghan’s selling, and I think this article could have been better considering past things I’ve seen from her.

        2. +1 I agree. She can’t do anything right. I am impressed by her and think she will be an asset to the royal family.

          1. I haven’t read the E News article but I hope for Meghan’s sake Harry didn’t use a ring made by his ex. How terrible.

  6. I was not impressed with this list… citing Rosie The Riveter as a woman who changed your life seems weird.

    My knee-jerk reaction was that this was something Meghan had to do as part of her publicity agreement with Suits, and that it could have been better done and more engaging.

    I totally buy that Bonnie Hammer and her mother and even Julia Roberts changed her life, but Joni Mitchell put a song in her head and Diane Fossey made her want to see gorillas? Huh?

    1. No disrespect intended but OMG, these are Meghan’s experiences!!! Its her life, her unique experiences ….if these are the women she said inspired her/changed her life, or whatever she calls it, that’s fine, so be it. One may not agree with the list but you don’t have to, its not like Meghan is recommending that everyone should be inspired by these women or even recognize them as they made a differences in their lives, far from it!! I mean I can understand people that say “of the women on that list, i don’t hold so and so in high regard etc” but I just don’t understand how one can bash Meghan for what she claims are her personal experiences. Why do people feel the need to cut others down on everything? Thanks for the post MMR, I apologize for the rant.

      1. I don’t think you heard me bash Meghan.

        And it’s not that I “don’t agree” with the list, it’s that Meghan didn’t explain how these people “changed her life.”

        1. But did she really HAVE to explain anything in order for people to respect her views as hers? Why does she have to “explain why they changed her life” to anyone? I don’t get it!!

          1. Why does she talk about it anyway? That’s my question.
            Meghan would answer:”To inspire young girls.” It’s the stereotype answer.
            But she just does it for self-presentation.So, it speaks volumes to me what she says.

      1. I’m merely wishing there was more clarification! She did a poor job of explaining how Madeline Albright changed her life and this could have been better done and more engaging.

    2. +1 I agree. She can’t do anything right. I am impressed by her and think she will be an asset to the royal family.

      1. Kathleen I agree with your sentiment but disagree that Meghan can’t do anything right, I am continually impressed by Meghan and think you’ll find that MMR often is as well.

        1. Sorry, I wasn’t very clear. I meant that no matter what she says or does is criticized. It’s as if she can’t do anything right in people’s eyes.

    3. Dian Fossey has been one of my heroes since I read her book many years ago. Yes, she went really far in her love for the great and lesser apes, but people who change the world are often fierce and single-minded. Not muddled like me.

      Rosie the Riveter makes sense to me; it was an early icon of the idea that women can do anything. Might be relevant to the conversation about the 50s on KMR, a time when women were encouraged to trade their overalls for pearls and a shirtwaist, and use their biceps vacuuming.

      I am quite surprised at the hostility to this list. They aren’t my choices, but they don’t bother me. We all, all the time, are presenting an image, even just writing these comments. It’s human.

      1. I apologize, I certainly didn’t mean to seem hostile!

        I really like Meghan and enjoy reading about her: she seems like an accomplished woman who often thinks of others and actively engages with difficult issues.

        This article was a disappointment to me because it lacked detail and was a little shallow (see the Julia Roberts blurb) compared to other articles she has done. I blame Glamour, to be honest.

  7. Am I the only one rolling my eyes all the time about her soap commercial?

    I remember, ages ago, around the time Meghan would have done this that Linda Ellerbee on her awesome Nickelodeon program Nick News–I adored it and worshiped her–had a show on just this, sexism in commercials regarding cleaning, and things started shifting because of the expose about it and letters she wrote… Does anyone remember it? It was never something that bugged me much though as an adult I notice it far more since as a woman I am expected to take up the household burden and raising the kids, especially as I do not work (because I can’t find a job!). Or now how it may be the dad does the stuff in the commercial but he is always a bumbling idiot who does it wrong, and Mom has to fix it since men are incompetent morons who can’t cook or clean or be a functioning parent, which is also sexist and bothers me.

    Doubt it had anything to do with Meghan. Her taking credit for that sort of thing makes me go, ‘Please, tell me something honest.’

  8. It seems to me the blog owner does not care for Meghan. It seems like almost every sentence is a backhanded snipe at her. I am fully behind Meghan in light of the prejudice and snark directed toward her, I have no issue with her not wanting people to know everything about her. That his her right.

    I also see no issue with criticizing Kate in response to this article. Everyone knows Kate is lazy, has nothing to offer and offers nothing. She is vacous and a complete disgrace to the BRF.

    Meghan will actually have something to offer and can deliver a speech and speak intelligently. Already, she is way ahead of the Duchess of Doolittle.

    1. I don’t dislike Meghan. In fact, I’ve praised Meghan quite a bit in previous articles. In general, I’m neutral to positive on Meghan – I like the causes she has chosen to support, but I’ve never seen Suits and had no idea who she was before the relationship went public, and I am a bit skeptical of what she would do as a royal (because I really don’t think anyone who marries Harry will do all that much, because he doesn’t do all that much).

      I’m really unsure why you think my comments about this list being totally in line with Meghan’s image, and wondering why this list was published now, are somehow super mean and snipe-y. I stand by what I wrote, as “One’s top 10 inspirational people list can be very telling about who one is, or at least who one wants other people to think one is” and “Meghan, she has all of her bases covered in this list, and is reiterating the image she’s been cultivating for years” are true facts. A person’s inspirational people list IS telling about that person – whether true or just what they want people to think. And this list IS reiterating the image Meghan has been cultivating for years – she has talked about all of these topics previously. I made no comment on whether Meghan cultivating an image is positive or negative.

      Kate has nothing at all to do with this article, so there is no reason to bring her up unless people specifically want to do so just to insult her. That need to bring up Kate just to insult her, I do not understand. I honestly do not understand the need or desire to bring up a person who is completely irrelevant to a topic just to insult them. Yes, Kate is lazy, Kate has no charisma… and none of that is relevant to Meghan’s list of inspirational women and what that says about her. Bringing Kate up is either just to insult her, or to make Meghan look better when that is not needed. Personally, I think Meghan’s accomplishments should be able to stand on their own. If we have to insult Kate to make Meghan look better, than that is a huge problem. Yes, Meghan has accomplishments, and we can talk about them without insulting other women in the process. In fact, given what I know about Meghan, Meghan would probably dislike the idea of insulting another woman to make a woman look better, and bringing up a woman who is irrelevant to a topic just to insult her. From what I know about her, Meghan is too pro-feminism for that.

    2. Lyanne The fact you say you are behind meghan due to what you percieve to be snark and predujuce against her but go on to do the same to kate smacks of double standards and the reason people talk about projecting an image is because that’s what every public figure does no one actually knows about the individual they put their best self forward because that’s how they want to be seen

  9. Are people seriously going to criticise her for HER list of inspirational women? Good lord.

    1. I cannot speak for others, but I did not criticize who Meghan put on her list. I did comment that my list would be different, as I said that a person’s list would be a reflection of who they are or are trying to project, therefore everyone’s list is different. I also commented that the topics she chose to highlight here are not surprising as they are her typical talking points and reflect the image she’s been building for years. and I do not think there is anything wrong with that.

    2. I’ve made it very clear that i’m not dissing MM for HER list of inspirational women since such a list is always subjective.

      I do criticise 2 people on that list NOT because of MM, but because i personally happen to find them objectionable.

      For one, i’ve had personal experience of the woman which led to that opinion, and the other routinely defended the decisions of the administration she served to the point of being heartless and showed a complete lack of empathy which in my book means she is a dubious role model for anyone.

  10. Personally, I find the dissing of BOTH Meghan and the Cambridges on both these blogs very bothersome. There are other ways of giving people constructive criticism instead of diss, diss, diss, trash, trash, trash and/or bash, bash, bash on a regular daily basis. Its like people live to be nasty and mean to others, its really uncalled for. We really don’t know any of these women personally, we don’t know if Kate or Will is lazy, and we don’t know what “image Meghan is trying to build for years” we don’t know. Geez maybe no one is trying to build any image but this is who they truly are, my goodness!!!

    1. I find it bothersome that people cannot understand the nuances of the “image” people craft for themselves, and that an “image” someone builds of themselves isn’t necessarily false. Just because it’s an image one wants to portray doesn’t make it false, but it is still an image they craft that they want to be perceived as and calling it such is not wrong, bad, or malicious. And BTW, literally everyone does this. Everyone. We don’t give ourselves 100% to everyone. When we’re at work, we have a certain image we want to portray. When we’re with friends, we have a certain image we want to portray. When we’re with family, or romantic partners, or strangers, or whomever, we all craft certain images of ourselves about who we are and who we want to be seen as by these different people. Literally everyone does this.

      And yes, we most certainly can know what image Meghan has been building and cultivating for years: she’s given interviews, and given speeches, and wrote articles for magazines and for The Tig all with stories and thoughts about herself. All of those stories and thoughts about herself collectively is the image she wants the world to perceive her as. But the fact that it is an “image” doesn’t make anything she’s said about herself false – that is the nuance there that you guys are missing. I never said anything about Meghan’s image being false, I merely pointed out that this list is reiterating her image, which is true.

  11. She does cover all her bases, but I think it is still authentic. Definitely she talks up her education – of course it makes her look more substantial than ‘just’ being an ‘actress’ but I do think she knows the value of education and has a work ethic.
    I too, love Toni Morrison’s work (I say work because I know nothing about her as a person). She blew my mind when I first read ‘Beloved’. Already, that gives me positive thoughts about Meghan, it’s good PR. I think she knows how to manage people ( mentioning her boss in the list), maybe a smidgeon more subtlety.

  12. To the “blog owner,” in no way have you “praised Meghan Markle.” From the beginning, you have questioned her blog, whether she alerted the press, etc. To now state that because Harry is “work-shy,” she too will be, is really quite sexist. Perhaps Harry is interested in her BECAUSE they share and care about many of the same causes. The cynic in me understands that you must write provocatively to incite your readers but you really do women you do not even know a great dis-service with your constant negativity. Meghan Markle was the most google searched actress last year. Of course people are interested in knowing more about her, thus the brief piece about “women who changed her life.” It is one thing to critizise one’s fashion, it is quite another to continue to try to take another woman down. You implore your readers to be kind. I hope you will take your own advice.

    1. Clearly, you haven’t read much of the blog. KMR/MMR has praised Meghan multiple times. What she doesn’t do is fawn over the royals the way many royal watchers and the media does. Harry is work-shy and seems to view his royal duties as an imposition on his life. He’s said nearly as much during interviews. To imply that this closely-held belief of his (that he is entitled to a “normal” life that is fully funded by others) would be shared by his wife is not sexist. It’s something he has acted like is a core belief of his; typically, spouses share core beliefs or at least accommodate them.

      1. Agreed Jenna. And considering that Harry hasn’t done more than William even if he can, shows that he does not intend to do more. Anne does more than Charles every year (even if they’re fairly even in that regard), Sophie, Edward, Andrew and half of the older generation works more than the lazy trio. Besides, with the disastrous interview he gave to Newsweek, we know he doesn’t want to work much.
        Meghan if she marries him, will do less than Kate. Much of her charity work is PR, proof is here. Someone kindly researched all of her work : https://weeooweeoo-ismelldrama.tumblr.com/tagged/houseplant

  13. The problem with celebrities is none of the image they project is real whether its charity work or their social media accounts its just part of there job to give them an edge . Celebrities and charity work has become a good way to make themselves look good there are people who genuinely care they do it behind the scenes like George Michael the rest seem to want praise no one knows what’s real anymore or a cultivated image

    1. I think this is true as well. These articles are meant to sell magazines and promote the individual to their financial advantage (for their next acting job or for higher ratings). She’s not advocating for any organization or cause in this article. Folks who bought the magazine just supported the advertisers and magazine staff. Not to sound bit-chy but why should anyone care what an actress (or actor) thinks? She spends her time pretending for money. She talks about being educated in international relations but didn’t choose it for a career. She spends her time on television sets and memorizes lines. She went to see the gorillas on vacation. And this affects the rest of us how?

      She’s entertainment while the rest of the world moves along.

  14. Meghan has had these talking points for years which suggests to me that she is very passionate & committed about them. At least she’s not fickle and she shows some consistency in her actions which is a good thing.

    Also if she only started to develop these interests after she started dating Harry then I might be suspicious, but she has clearly harboured these for years which suggests it is clearly something close to her heart.

  15. Agree with what others have stated, that we really learn nothing new about Meghan or her interests from this list. It’s a perfectly fine list for Glamour’s audience: Each of the women is well known nationally if not internationally, with the exception of her mother, and that’s not surprising–most people would include their mom or grandmom on such a list.

    I’d like to think, however, that if Meghan were just talking with friends, that her list would include more “everyday” women–someone like a middle school teacher, an elderly neighbor who volunteers at a local shelter, or an immigrant who works two jobs and takes classes at night. More personal and less global, but still incredibly inspirational. But as someone pointed out above, Meghan clearly values the difference between personal yet public and private information, and because of that I doubt we will ever see such a list. Also because the image she has been crafting for years is an international one.

    Regarding the timing of this article, I think most magazines have a lead time of at least six months, so this list would have been prepared and submitted before Meghan shut down the Tig and stopped posting on social media. Before she felt the need–or the BRF machine demanded–to disappear as much as possible. So, apart from whatever she is contractually bound to do for Suits, I doubt that we will see anything else this “personal” from Meghan again. At least not before her name is on the KP letterhead.

    Also, just have to agree with KMR: Agatha Christie would make my list of top 10 inspirational women. I still treasure my very first Agatha Christie novel–my much-worn copy of The Man in the Brown Suit.

  16. She plays her part well.If she continues to be silent and have the right opinions, she can hope for a wedding to Harry,.

  17. Whjy does she always have to remind us that when she was a kid she penned letters to people when things that were printed set her off? Ok, maybe she did do that, but, it sounds as if she is blowing her own horn and that trait in anyone bothers me. — when anyone does it. When, and if she becomes a Duchess, and a writer (if one is allowed to interview her) writes about those things, I would find it more acceptable.

    I do, however, find it interesting that she writes about women who impacted her life. Any men do that, too? Just a question. She is certainly doing quite a job of setting up who she is – and what she wants people/media to know about her.

  18. To Jenna, Ellana, and MMR/KMR, actually I HAVE READ much of both blogs. Again, please do not assume just because I do not agree with some of what I read. For example KMB, you obsess over Kate Middleton’s parenting skills and then feign surprise and bewilderment when you received so many negative comments basically agreeing with your blog.

    Moreover, I think it is interesting that you gave Kate the benifit of the doubt at the beginning of her marriage but just assume MM will bow down to her (perhaps) future husband. That is rather pathetic and sad in 2017.

    1. All right, On Second Thought, since you’re addressing me I will answer : I do not believe that Meghan is that much involved with her charities. Through her Instagram and her blog the Tig, she has shown that her goal in life was to elevate herself socially and materially.
      And there are some proof : https://anonymoushouseplantfan.tumblr.com/post/164698767576/keepingupwiththeroyals-royal-confessions-i -> Here is the blogger that figured out the PR pattern of MM and PH relationship. On the link I provide, same blogger made an analysis on how really involved with her charities she is. The answer isn’t pretty for Meghan.

      For these reasons alone (I’m not mentioning her naked scenes that brings her to the level of Sofia or the shady timeline of their relationship or the obvious money she is making on it) , I believe that Meghan won’t do much and will follow the path of Harry : a few engagements here and there, all of them sugarcoated and heavily PRed, but still less than William and Kate. The only positive remark that I have to do about her : she can talk and will engage people.

      About KMR, if I’m not mistaken, she is said that she got interested in royalty/royal watching at the time of KM/PW wedding. She like most people believed that KM would bring fresh air to the BRF but did not. Also KM bow down to PW, but then again most, if not all married-in of the BRF have to bow down. MM with her expressiveness and PR ways would find it hard to blend in the Firm if she does not.

      And by the way KMR has a critical and thoughtful personality. She questioned KM and PW parenting, like most of us do. We are curious and she let us express our theories. She did put a stop to it as it was becoming a mess and almost all regulars agreed to take a seat back and stop commenting on it.

    2. 1) I honestly do not remember ever “obsessing” over Kate’s parenting skills, although I have discussed them in the past. But sure let’s say I “obsessed” over Kate’s parenting skills in the past. That has not occurred for at least a year, and a good 6-9 months prior to my parenting post. There is nothing wrong or hypocritical or “feigning surprise” about growing as a person and realizing the comments on my blog have gone too far about a topic and then trying to rein them in. Many people have commented negatively about my parenting post, but I honestly do not understand why attempting to broaden people’s minds about our own thought processes is such a negative thing.

      2) I did give Kate the benefit of the doubt when she first married because I really wasn’t a royal watcher at the time and knew next to nothing about how modern-day royalty worked. But I believed the PR whitewashing and thought she would work hard at some point. But I have never stated anywhere that I ever thought she would out-work William or Camilla or anyone else.

      Knowing more about how modern-day royalty works, and how William and Harry work in particular, I think it is incorrect to think that Meghan will publicly out-work Kate, and that has absolutely nothing to do with gender of any of the parties involved. For whatever reason, Harry does not publicly out-work William, so I think there is no reason to think that Harry’s wife will publicly out-work Kate. It is not a gender-specific idea to think that a married-in royal would follow their blood royal spouse’s lead when it comes to royal work. If the genders of all involved parties were reversed, I would say the same. Take for example Victoria and Daniel in Sweden: I would not expect Daniel to out-work Victoria, nor would I expect Daniel to out-work Silvia, because Daniel is the married-in royal so he will not out-work his blood royal spouse, and since Victoria does not out-work Carl Gustaf, I would not expect Daniel to out-work Carl Gustaf’s spouse. Married-in royals A) almost never out-work their blood royal spouse, and B) almost never out-work the married-in spouse ahead of of them in order of precedence. Sophie does out-work Kate (because Kate is “part-time” and her numbers are really low), but Sophie does not out-work Camilla. Anne out-works Charles frequently, but she is a blood royal. Edward does not out-work Charles. If Harry were to publicly out-work William, then I might believe that Meghan would out-work Kate. But for whatever reason, Harry refuses to publicly out-work William, so I think there is no reason to think (like the people who want Kate to look bad) that Meghan (or whomever Harry marries) will out-work Kate.

      It so happens that William and Harry are male, and their spouses (and would-be spouses) are female. If the genders were flipped and William and Harry were female, Kate and Meghan were male, and everything else were the same, I would say the same thing: that I highly doubt male-Meghan will publicly out-work male-Kate.

  19. If you believe everything you read on tumblr, then I really feel for you. To now resort to degrading MM in this manner is most revealing of you, not her.

    Moreover, MMR, I too do not understand why having my own “thought process is a negative thing.” Your readers are not always going to agree with you. Please continue to “grow as a person” and please do not take disagreements as personal attacks. I will not bother to respond to the remainder of your comments because my words have been (perhaps deliberately) miss-construed. Have a great weekend!

    1. It has research. I do not believe everything but it has research and I do not believe blindly everything about her, just like I do not believe everything about KM.
      There are enough clues out there to show that MM isn’t as perfect as she presents herself to be. And I don’t find it degrading. Just saying my opinion.

  20. If you believe everything you read on tumblr, then I really feel for you. Moreover, to now resort to degrading MM in this manner is most revealing of you, not her.

    Moreover, MMR, I too do not understand why having my own “thought process is a negative thing.” Your readers are not always going to agree with you. Please continue to “grow as a person” and please do not take disagreements as personal attacks. I will not bother to respond to the remainder of your comments because my words have been (perhaps deliberately) miss-construed. Have a great weekend!

  21. MMR, there have been a number of controversial articles published about Markle & her family. Why have you chosen not to comment on these ongoing racist articles in the press? Indeed, just yesterday the Daily Mail DELETED an appalling article focusing on MM’s mother. The RACISM, classism & sexism toward MM has been utterly appalling. I do not care who her mentors are, no one deserves this RACISM & HATE in 2017.

    Oh, & Ellana, I do not think Markle “researched this” to get attention.

    Next. . .

    1. I said that someone researched the involvement of MM with her charities and I found it interesting to share because it reveals that she doesn’t do much, contrary to the belief. I never said that MM researched this. Just that someone else did. That’s all.

      It’s clear that the two of us disagree on her MM, so I’ll stop here.

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