The Uncomfortable Truth About Joining the Royal Family

In normal circumstances we would say that Meghan Markleshouldn't pay one whit of attention to what anybody thinks about her, that obviously the only opinion of herself that matters is her own. 

Yeah, that's simply not the case here.

While Prince Harry obviously loves Meghan for Meghan, and presumably she's accepted that it will be impossible to please everybody no matter what she does and that she's only fooling herself if she thinks she can get the better of the British tabloids, there is an opinion that has mattered since before she said her I-dos, was given a title and officially became a member of the royal family.

We're talking, of course, about the opinion belonging to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.


The common thread running through every royal triumph and misstep is that, aside from whatever joy has ensued or personal havoc wreaked, all roads lead to what the queen thinks. Yea or nay. Amused or inscrutable stone face. The door is always open or we'll limit our time together to must-attend events.

Which isn't to say that she isn't a forgiving sort. She has to be, considering she's learned the hard way that members of her family are as prone to making mistakes, saying the wrong thing or marrying the wrong person as any non-royal person from anywhere.

Yet even in cases where the 92-year-old monarch may have softened her stance on an old-fashioned piece of protocol—whether it's regarding something as big as divorce (three of her kids pulled the plug on a marriage) or as small as nail polish (she prefers nudes but she isn't the manicure police)—there are countless people schooled in the field of royal rules who won't let a slip slide. And slips are inevitable, especially when you're first getting started.





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