Life›
Buckingham Palace has been criticized for its response to Meghan Markle's miscarriage essay
Mikhaila Friel
Dec 1, 2020, 18:30 IST
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit a township in Johannesburg, South Africa, on October 2, 2019.Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Russell Myers, the royal editor at the Daily Mirror, has criticized Buckingham Palace for its lack of public response to Meghan Markle's miscarriage essay.
Speaking on talkRadio, Myers said the palace largely declined to comment when he approached it about the essay, saying only: "This is a deeply personal matter for the couple."
Myers said the palace's support could have helped to extend the conversation, so it wouldn't "just be Meghan out on her own."
Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal commentator, disagrees with this view. He told Insider that reports of the royal family being unsupportive were "deplorable."
Buckingham Palace has been criticized for its response to Meghan Markle's op-ed article in The New York Times in which she described for the first time her experience having a miscarriage earlier this year.
The Duchess of Sussex said she realized she was having a miscarriage after feeling a "sharp cramp" when holding her first son, Archie Harrison, one morning in July. She described the experience as an "almost unbearable grief" in the article, titled "The Losses We Share."
Russell Myers, the royal editor at the Daily Mirror, said Buckingham Palace largely declined to comment when he contacted it about the duchess' article.
"I think this is a huge, huge missed opportunity for the royal family," Myers said during a recent appearance on talkRadio, adding: "They should have made a public statement to say, this is a really brave and honest thing to do, because just on the very basis that it would have mended some of the cracks in the relationship that we've been talking about for months and months."
Britain's Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, along with other members of the British royal family, watch as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team Red Arrows performs a flypast during Trooping the Colour parade in London, Britain June 8, 2019.Hannah Mckay/Reuters
He added: "The palace just said to us, 'This is a deeply personal matter for the couple.'"
While Buckingham Palace did not give further comment on the record to the Daily Mirror, however, an anonymous source credited as a "palace insider" told the publication: "There is, of course, much understandable sadness in the family."
Myers also said that if the palace had opted to comment more on the record, it would have provided a bigger conversation about the topic, rather than "just be Meghan out on her own."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have appeared to have a strained relationship with Buckingham Palace since they resigned from royal duties earlier this year. There was confusion surrounding the couple's "step back" announcement, which was published on Instagram instead of via a palace press release.
There were reports that the couple did not inform the palace that they were planning to make the announcement, though Markle later disputed this claim and said they had informed the Queen and Prince Charles.
Earlier in November, it was reported that palace officials refused Prince Harry's request to be represented at the family's official Remembrance Day service with a wreath laid on his behalf.
According to The Daily Beast, the press offices for Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and Prince William all declined to comment on the op-ed article. A source told the publication, however, that Harry and Markle informed the family about the article before its publication.
Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond for a request for comment from Insider.
The palace's restrained response is not unusual. The royal press offices rarely provide on-the-record statements in response to reports about the family in the media. It's a tradition that dates back to the "never complain, never explain" mantra that was first used by the Queen Mother in 1936.
Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal commentator who was previously an editor of "The International Who's Who," told Insider that the criticism of the palace's response was unjustified.
Fitzwilliams said that while it had "undoubtedly been a difficult year for the royal family and their relationship with the Sussexes," it was "totally incorrect" to label the palace's response to Markle's op-ed article as uncaring.
"The statement, that it was a deeply personal matter which the Palace would not comment on, was accompanied by comment from a source which said there was obviously understandable sadness in the family," Fitzwilliams told Insider.
"It has also been reported that Harry's brother, William, and his father, Prince Charles, had been extremely supportive and that the royal family has been kept informed and been greatly saddened by the news," he said. "It is deplorable that anyone could have suggested otherwise."
Melanie Bromley, E! Chief News Correspondent and royal commentator, told Insider that the palace were correct not to treat the op-ed as a "PR opportunity."
"I am sure they have been empathetic and suitably sympathetic in the private conversations they have had with Meghan and Harry in the time since they suffered such a tragic loss, but publicly adding to the conversation would be highly unusual for them," Bromley told Insider. "And in some ways if they did use this as a way to get positive PR that would be gross. This is Meghan and Harry's loss, this is their own personal experience to share and not something that the rest of the royal family should see as a PR opportunity."
Meghan Markle says it's untrue that she and Prince Harry didn't consult the Queen before leaving the royal family
Buckingham Palace reportedly denied Prince Harry's request to be represented at the royal family's Remembrance Day service
Meghan Markle's powerful essay about her miscarriage is inspiring people from around the world to share their own stories
Meghan Markle says the memory of her emotional TV interview from last year helped her get through a miscarriage
Next StorySunday saw the most travelers pass through US airports since the pandemic began as Americans bucked CDC warnings against Thanksgiving travel
Sunday saw the most travelers pass through US airports since the pandemic began as Americans bucked CDC warnings against Thanksgiving travel
The best memes about Jake Paul's knockout fight with Nate Robinson
Nordstrom is selling a $740 jacket with attached gloves, and people are writing sarcastic reviews about ridiculous ways to wear it