[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”-5%||4%||false|false”]<\/p>\n
Despite efforts to the contrary, I, too, succumbed to the Meghan & Harry interview<\/strong> with Her Royal Highness Might-As-Well-Be<\/em> Queen Oprah. <\/span><\/p>\n Like any other nosy reporter, I watched with the same morbid curiosity with which one unwittingly slows when passing a multi-car highway pileup, hoping there are no fatalities but wanting to see nonetheless.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/pexels-amateur-hub-3571503.jpg” title_text=”pexels-amateur-hub-3571503″ _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”-1%||3%||false|false”]<\/p>\n And there it was: the probing questions, the near-tearful replies, when suddenly there came the big one. No, not whether or not a child would be sufficiently melanin-deficient, the one about how much Meghan knew about The Royals before that long walk down the aisle.<\/span><\/p>\n And Meghan\u2019s answer? Not much.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ background_color=”#dd4200″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” box_shadow_style=”preset6″ box_shadow_spread=”13px”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/England.jpg” title_text=”England” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”105%” max_width=”1200px” min_height=”400px” height=”400px” max_height=”600px” custom_margin=”|-1%||24%|false|false” custom_padding=”|0px|31px||false|false”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ text_text_color=”#ffffff” background_color=”rgba(0,44,86,0.82)” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”10%|4%|2%|-16%|false|false” custom_padding=”5%|5%|5%|5%|false|false” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”14px” box_shadow_vertical=”16px” box_shadow_blur=”21px”]<\/p>\n How is that possible? Four decades ago, when I married and moved to England, my husband and I settled in the then-sleepy university town of Leicester.\u00a0 He was in the social-sciences faculty, and I snagged a secretarial spot in the biochemistry department. I tried, but I was a lousy typist, and multisyllabic scientific jargon wasn\u2019t my strong suit.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n By then husband Eric had schooled me about how best to adapt to British ways. Learning a new English language and unconventional spelling was hard. I lasted five years. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ custom_margin=”3%||3%||false|false” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n I also managed to get fired from my second job as a copywriter for an advertising agency. While reviewing a page proof with the owner, I felt a hand creeping up my thigh between my legs and before I could think about it, I smacked the snot out him, simultaneously shrieking a very un-British, \u201cWhat the fuck is wrong with you?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n My third job, at Leicester\u2019s Little Theater, paid considerably less, but was a dream\u2014 answering phones, managing auditions, rehearsals, and performance schedules. Alas, that job ended when my father had a heart attack, and I returned home to St. Louis.<\/span> ” . . . you’re either in, or you’re out.” <\/p><\/blockquote><\/div><\/span>Fitting into a foreign culture is challenging at best. It can be done, but it isn\u2019t easy; you\u2019re either in, or you\u2019re out. There really isn\u2019t much middle ground even when going ostensibly from one English-speaking country to the next. The relocation becomes even more daunting when royal titles and protocols enter the mix. Still, it can be done.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”-4%||||false|false”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ text_text_color=”#000000″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_color=”rgba(112,112,112,0.11)” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”#707070″ background_color_gradient_end=”rgba(25,0,0,0.84)” background_color_gradient_direction=”64deg” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”-3%||2%||false|false” custom_padding=”7%|24%|8%|7%|false|false” box_shadow_style=”preset4″ box_shadow_vertical=”14px” box_shadow_blur=”12px”]<\/p>\n And it can be problematic for anyone. For those who can remember, it was initially tough for Grace Kelly who married into royalty at 26 \u2014 and she was white!<\/span><\/p>\n Yes, she surrendered her autonomy, but it was the \u201850s, a very different time. She married Prince Ranier of Monaco and kept her counsel from then on. I repeat: it can be done. But as we also know, things can be quite different for someone who is not white.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/585px-Grace_Kelly_MGM_photo.jpg” title_text=”585px-Grace_Kelly_MGM_photo” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default” width=”334px” custom_margin=”15%|||-13%|false|false” border_width_all=”2px” border_color_all=”#707070″ box_shadow_style=”preset2″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ custom_margin=”1%||3%||false|false” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n Not everyone can play the game. But once a decision to subscribe to the historically anachronistic norms of British royalty, it should be honored, even in the 21st century. We must also remember, we\u2019ve viewed Meghan\u2019s distress through the prism of one long interview and a notoriously aggressive British press, and one not always enamored of the monarchy. <\/span><\/p>\n Truth is we don\u2019t know what really goes on in the House of Windsor.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n All of this is to say I don\u2019t want to hear any more of the Harry and Meaghan pity party. Being uprooted happens every day \u2014 admittedly not always from urban cool to a castle \u2014 but one thing is certain: it simply isn\u2019t possible not to experience culture shock. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/hollywood-3782913_640-1.jpg” alt=”Enjoy life” title_text=”hollywood-3782913_640″ _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default” box_shadow_style=”preset3″ box_shadow_spread=”9px”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”original” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ text_text_color=”#ffffff” background_color=”rgba(93,123,175,0.8)” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”-6%|||-47%|false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”0%|||0%|false|false” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”5%|5%|5%|5%|true|true” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_blur=”22px” box_shadow_spread=”6px”]<\/p>\n M&H purportedly want to get off the grid and live simple, normal lives. So, what better way than to participate in a two-hour interview seen around the world with a woman so influential she can go by one name?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n (If Oprah really wants to snag by a hot interview, let\u2019s pivot to another member of the royals: let her probe Prince Andrew about his dalliance with Nazi uniforms and perverse fun aboard Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s yacht.)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s absolutely understandable that M&H want out that nonsense, but if they want to live their lives in privacy, why come to Los Angeles where the whole point of LA is visibility? <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>Why a multimillion-dollar mansion? <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”1%|||-17%|false|false” custom_padding=”15%|||5%|false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”3%||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone”]<\/p>\n In 2021 <\/strong>does any sane person really care about who in the performative monarchy think of the melanin content of the new baby\u2019s skin, when more than half of this nation\u2019s states are trying to legislate Blacks and Browns out of their voting rights? <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n When Asians are being targeted<\/strong> by a vicious corps of nitwits? <\/span><\/p>\n When Mississippi and Michigan<\/strong> still don\u2019t have decent drinking water? <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n When an idiot in Texas<\/strong> can\u2019t manage a pandemic and an ice apocalypse<\/strong> because he\u2019s wrapped in an ongoing flirtation with Trumptopia?<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”-2%||-2%||false|false”]<\/p>\n I\u2019m periodically capable of being as shallow as the next person; after all, I did watch the Oprah interview from beginning to end. But the whole time I thought about that other cinematic beauty, and how she managed her marriage to a prince \u2014 all the while knowing that things that come hard for white people always come harder for nonwhites. It can drive a person to considering suicide.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/end-139848_1280-1.jpg” title_text=”end-139848_1280″ _builder_version=”4.9.2″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.9.2″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”-1%||3%||false|false”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Despite efforts to the contrary, I, too, succumbed to the Meghan & Harry interview with Her Royal Highness Might-As-Well-Be Queen Oprah. Like any other nosy reporter, I watched with the same morbid curiosity with which one unwittingly slows when passing a multi-car highway pileup, hoping there are no fatalities but wanting to see nonetheless.And there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":236654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,8],"tags":[51,271,272,273],"class_list":["post-236623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-expanding-beyond","category-for-the-sake-of-argument","tag-england","tag-meghan-and-harry","tag-oprah","tag-royalty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}All said, I wish Archie, Harry, Meghan, and baby Windsor the best of everything. <\/span><\/h6>\n
But please don\u2019t make us watch if it turns out there\u2019s no fairy-tale ending.<\/span><\/h6>\n