VF: Duchess Meghan will probably get pregnant in 2020 & continue to travel

I hope we’ll get to see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex before the end of the year, but who knows. A month ago, I hoped/suspected that they would be back to do something Christmas-related with the royal family, but at this point, I think they’ll probably avoid the whole thing, especially given that Prince Andrew will be slithering around. Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair did a piece which is supposed to be like “Meghan’s year in review,” but really it’s just an interview with Andrew Morton. Morton was Princess Diana’s biographer and he wrote an unauthorized biography of Meghan this year. Some highlights from this VF piece:

Meghan did what she was supposed to do: “Meghan has done everything that a new royal bride is expected to do,” said Morton, author of Meghan: A Hollywood Princess. “She has given birth to a beautiful baby, she has undertaken numerous engagements abroad and at home. She has made a number of competent speeches and has made the Queen laugh.” But Morton also acknowledges, “It’s been a tough year for Meghan and there has been a lot of criticism. I think she’s been unfairly criticized from the outset just like Diana was and just like Fergie was. Meghan is no different. Royal women tend to be more criticised than royal men. They are scrutinised for what they wear how they look what they say.’

Meghan’s A-list support: “Meghan is smart and she showed her purpose at her wedding by the people she invited,” Morton said. “She invited people she didn’t know well – Oprah, George and Amal Clooney the big Hollywood hitters. It was a clever move, because they are the ones who have stood up for her when she has been attacked.

The outsider: But even with A-list support behind her, as a former actress and an American Meghan in some ways remains an outsider within the royal family, says Morton. ‘I don’t think people have given her latitude for being American,’ says Morton. ‘Plus it’s a difficult family to marry into. The Royal Family is full of traditions and rituals such as who walks into a room first, who curtsies first. Things that are nonsensical to an outsider. The whole etiquette of royalty is hard to get grips with. Just because she seems competent and was a successful actress doesn’t mean it’s been easy for her. Nothing could have prepared her for everything that has happened.’

Her support system: “Her faith is important to her as it is to the Queen and Prince Charles and I think one of the reasons they get along is that there is a spirituality and sense of faith about her that is real and apparent,” Morton said. “I’m sure like the Queen she draws on her religion in times of need.”

Predictions for 2020: Looking to next year Morton predicts another royal baby and a busy itinerary for the hard working couple. “One will hope for baby number two to complete their family, and I think we’ll see them travel and fundraise around the world. There will be an international element to this couple as Commonwealth ambassadors, they’re in a good position to go around the world and I think things look very positive. There are storm clouds ahead though. and court cases are coming up that will be unpleasant. You also wonder, is she ever going to be reconciled with her father?’

[From Vanity Fair]

“I think she’s been unfairly criticized from the outset just like Diana was and just like Fergie was.” I must have missed all of the racist criticism of Diana and Fergie. It’s unsurprising that royal reporters and royal biographers continue to try to minimize and normalize the attacks against Meghan – it’s like their argument is “this is just the first-year hazing ritual, don’t worry, we do this to EVERY woman.” Like that makes it okay, or like we can’t see that entirely different “hazing” rules are being applied to Meghan. As for what 2020 will bring… I don’t know. Maybe another pregnancy, but not immediately? That’s my guess. I feel like the coming year will bring some big shake-ups all over the place, not just with the Sussexes, but also with the Queen, Charles and the Cambridges.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red and Backgrid.

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