The Duchess of Sussex is making her big return to Netflix with a cooking show called “With Love, Meghan.” A program received quite recently across the Channel.
Not sure that all the love and olive oil that Meghan Markle puts in her hummus is enough to reconcile her with the public. The first reactions to the new program announced on January 2 by the Duchess of Sussex are rather mocking, even downright hostile.
“Let them eat sponge cake”, headlines the Guardian, in reference to the famous phrase, full of contempt towards the hungry people, attributed (wrongly) to Marie-Antoinette, “let them eat sponge cake”. brioche”, and the cake that Meghan makes in the show, very popular with Queen Victoria.
The Times ironically compares the program to that of Gwyneth Paltrow, Goop“without the vaginal eggs”. The actress, Hollywood's high priestess of well-being, is herself often criticized for the dangerousness of her advice and the products she markets.
On January 2, Netflix released the first trailer for this program entitled With love, Meghan. We see the Duchess in the luxury of her new life in Montecito, California, surrounded by her friends the actresses Mindy and Kaling Spencer, the Korean-American chef Roy Choi and the owner of a posh Californian restaurant, Alice Waters, in an immaculate kitchen. The series will be broadcast on Netflix on January 15.
“I found it cool, elegant and refreshing”
But the comments are already running wild, in the press, but also on social networks. On YouTube, the trailer for the program attracted 11,000 “likes” and… 98,000 “dislikes”. Reproaches are raining down on the “superficiality” chosen by the duchess, when she “could have helped the 'Firm' (the name given to the royal family) in a constructive way”, analyzes an expert for the Daily Mail .
She is criticized for being above ground, “disconnected”, insensitive, egocentric. “The world is on fire, but Meghan Markle is here to teach us how to make gourmet donuts and sophisticated floral arrangements,” said an American, TikTok political analyst and royal family commentator on X. Neither Gwyneth Paltrow, nor even Paris Hilton, who also hosted a cooking show, certainly offbeat and full of self-deprecation, have aroused so much hatred.
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“I was originally a supporter of Meghan Markle, I found her cool, elegant and refreshing,” wrote American Meghan McCain, daughter of former US presidential candidate John McCain. “Like the rest of the world, my opinion changed when she disrespected the royal family.”
Because this is undoubtedly what caused the downfall of Meghan (and Harry). For having made criticism of the royal family their business. A very lucrative business, which brings them millions of dollars. Even Donald Trump believes that Prince Harry “betrayed the queen”.
The couple had, however, made a very promising start in 2018, at the time of their marriage, arousing immense hope in the United Kingdom, and even in the United States and the commonwealth countries.
“Meghan and Harry could have carved out a particular role for themselves, particularly within the Commonwealth, as Queen Elizabeth wished,” analyzes royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams in the columns of the Daily Mail.
“Another style of princess”
“Meghan has not understood how different the monarchy is from the inside compared to what it looks like from the outside,” said journalist Tina Brown, author of Palace Papersin 2022 on the Piers Morgan set.
“I think she honestly imagined she could be a different kind of princess. She thought she could be a global humanitarian princess.”
Their unpopularity on both sides of the Atlantic now lives up to their disappointed hopes. According to Yougov, Meghan Markle now only has 23% favorable opinion in the United Kingdom. She occupies the bottom of the ranking, behind Alexandra de Kent, an 88-year-old cousin of Queen Elizabeth! Only Prince Andrew is even less popular.
Everything changed not in January 2020, when Meghan and Harry left the royal family, but on March 7, 2021, when the couple gave a long interview to the high priestess of American television, Oprah Winfrey. Dwelling at length on their difficulties within the royal family, Meghan and Harry widely criticized the racism of certain members of the family, the lack of consideration for mental health, or the nastiness of Kate Middleton towards Meghan. Only Queen Elizabeth was spared.
The antithesis of “never complain, never explain”, the motto of the royal family, Meghan and Harry gave themselves up like few members of the royal family before them.
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With these criticisms, some of which were undoubtedly founded, on the functioning of the royal family, the couple created an image of privileged people who spit in the soup and complain about their fate. Despite support from figures like Michelle Obama, the interview had a devastating effect on Meghan and Harry's popularity, which has since continued to crumble.
“Capricious Duchess”
The continuation of their adventures outside the royal bosom has only reinforced this image of people fiercely attached to their private lives, and ready to sell the most intimate details to Netflix.
This is what they did in the documentary series, Harry & Meghanbroadcast on Netflix in December 2022. They recounted their difficult years in the United Kingdom, harassed and denigrated by the tabloid press, and their departure for California.
Meghan and Harry notably revealed that the royal family did not hesitate to manipulate the press when they began to overshadow Kate and William, the future king. From 2018, the British press turned its back on Meghan Markle, renamed the “capricious duchess”.
A reputation not necessarily usurped, according to an investigation by Hollywood Reporter last September. The magazine cited several former collaborators of the duchess, a club with many members, depicting Meghan Markle as a dragon. “Everyone is afraid of Meghan,” blurted one of them. “I saw her make men burst into tears,” said another. In 2018, harassment complaints filed by former employees prompted Buckingham to conduct an internal investigation.
Will Meghan's focaccia, pretty bouquets and donuts covered in edible flowers succeed in reconciling the public with the once beloved Hollywood actress? Or will “hate watching”, this activity which consists of watching a program to criticize and make fun of it, be the driving force behind viewers? In any case, curiosity should attract them to the kitchen with Meghan.
