Meghan Markle Thanked British Lawmaker for Her Support with a Personal Phone Call
Meghan Markle is thanking those who stood up for her.
Seventy-two female members of U.K. Parliament expressed their solidarity for the royal mom in an open letter released on Tuesday, led by Holly Lynch of the Labour Party. And on Wednesday morning, the Duchess of Sussex called Lynch to personally thank her.
“Here in Westminster, I got a phone call,” Lynch told reporter Joe Pike in a video shared on Twitter. “It was Buckingham Palace asking me was I available to speak to the Duchess of Sussex. She was calling to thank myself and other women MPs for standing with her, sending the open letter to say we as women in public office absolutely understand what she’s going through, although in very different public roles.”
She continued, “We stand with her in solidarity to say we shouldn’t be tearing down women in public life through the press or otherwise. Yes, she was pleased to have seen that letter.
“As a fairly new mom myself, the challenges of both being in the public eye, managing childcare, managing public responsibilities can all be a challenge, so we did discuss that.”
EXCL: 'I got a phonecall. It was Buckingham Palace asking me was I available to speak to the Duchess of Sussex.'
Meghan Duchess of Sussex called @HollyLynch5 this morning to say thank you. It comes after the Halifax MP sent her a cross-party letter of solidarity from female MPs. pic.twitter.com/8ykIEEvrbG— Joe Pike (@joepike) October 30, 2019
“We were quite happy to stand with her and recognize that what she’s going through has on occasion had xenophobic undertones, we’re not happy about that at all. We stand with her in challenging that and we will look to do everything we can at this end if some of our national press do not have a healthier, shall we say, interest in her life,” Lynch said.
When asked whether she thinks there have been colonial racist undertones in the treatment of Meghan in the press, Lynch replied: “I do. I’ve been really concerned about some of the narratives — some of the articles that have been incredibly sexist. I’m afraid that’s unacceptable in this day in age.
“She’s here, she’s married our prince, they’ve got a young son, we really want to welcome her to our society and I’m afraid not all of the articles in our national press reflect that and it’s time that stopped.”
“On occasions, stories and headlines have represented an invasion of your privacy and have sought to cast aspersions about your character, without any good reason,” the letter states. “Even more concerning still, we are calling out what can only be described as outdated, colonial undertones to some of these stories.”
It continues, “As women Members of Parliament from all backgrounds, we stand with you in saying it cannot be allowed to go unchallenged.”
Towards the end of their recent royal tour, which saw the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit South Africa with 5-month-old son Archie, it was revealed that Meghan had launched legal action against the Mail on Sunday for publishing a private letter she sent to her father. It emerged days later that Prince Harry was also taking legal action against The Sun and The Daily Mirror over alleged interceptions of his cell phone voice mails.
In Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, Meghan spoke about the pressures of being a new mother in the public eye.
“Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging. And then when you have a newborn, you know. And especially as a woman, it’s a lot,” Meghan said.
“So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed. It’s um … yeah. I guess, also thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m okay, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes,” she continued.
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Asked by ITV’s Tom Bradby if it “would be fair” to say that she’s “not really okay, as in it’s really been a struggle?” the mother of one responded, “Yes.”
In the documentary, Harry added: “Look, part of this job and part of any job, like everybody, means putting on a brave face and turning a cheek to a lot of the stuff. But again, for me and for my wife, of course, there’s a lot of stuff that hurts — especially when the majority of it is untrue.”
