Meghan Markle, who was once hailed a ‘royal Cinderella’, faced her own troubles even before becoming the center of the royal attention. The actress has faced harsh remarks from the people around her when growing up, and one comment stayed with her for several years.
According to Andrew Morton’s biography, Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, the former TV star couldn’t get over one encounter. The 42-year-old comes from a family of ‘low-level creatives’ who already had a footing in Hollywood, trying to live an ‘offbeat life’ in the sunshine. Following the American dream, Meghan Markle went to Northwestern University to study international affairs and theater. She was also the first person in her family to go to college. But her experience at college was bittersweet.
Meghan Markle couldn’t get over ‘uncomfortable’ remark
Meghan Markle has openly talked about the discrimination she faced due to her dual heritage. Royal author Morton writes about one incident in particular that Meghan recalled in her 2015 essay for Elle.
The Duchess of Sussex attended Northwestern University, where she ‘stood out’. She was one of the few five percent of the student body who was African American.
But her experience turned bitter near the beginning when her dorm mate in the first semester made a harsh remark.
She recalled the uncomfortable experience sharing: “Navigating closed-mindedness to the tune of a dorm mate I met my first week at university who asked if my parents were still together.
“‘You said your mom is black and your dad is white, right?’ she said. I smiled meekly, waiting for what could possibly come out of her pursed lips next. ‘And they’re divorced?’ I nodded. ‘Oh, well that makes sense.”
The interaction felt like a stab to Meghan. Morton explains: “The snide remark cut her deeply. ‘Makes sense how?’ she wondered. Of course, she understood the implication: that the failure of an interracial marriage was inevitable. The interaction stayed with her and was one of the memories she referred to years.”
Meghan talks about ‘swallowing’ her voice
Meghan is known as an outspoken celebrity who does not fear voicing her opinion and telling her true story to the world. But the royal member and wife of Prince Harry also has a past where she felt ‘stifled.’
“I was scared to open this Pandora’s box of discrimination, so I sat stifled, swallowing my voice,” she wrote about her college experience.
The Duchess also revealed witnessing her mom tearing up as someone hurled a racist slur against her in LA when Meghan Markle came back from college during a break.
Meghan recounted the aftermath of the insult: “We were leaving a concert, and she wasn’t pulling out of a parking space quickly enough for another driver.
“My skin rushed with heat as I looked to my mom. Her eyes welling with hateful tears, I could only breathe out a whisper of words, so hushed they were barely audible: ‘It’s OK, Mommy.”
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