The Royal Family has a very intense relationship with the press.
These days, they've managed to deal with it in a way that works for everyone, by allowing photographers at official events, and releasing official photographs on birthdays, for example, as well as sending out Palace-sanctioned press releases.
But that doesn't stop paparazzi and other unauthorized photographers from trying to capture the royals behind the scenes. According to one royal expert, Meghan Markle might be particularly concerned about this—especially when we consider the constant invasion of privacy that Princess Diana went through right up until her tragic death.
"Meghan was enamored with Princess Diana as she grew up. Meghan watched her funeral on television as a young girl," royal commentator Kinsey Schofield told the Daily Star.
"I do think that Meghan might fear having that Princess Diana moment of being overwhelmed by photographers or paparazzi."
Schofield doesn't think Markle needs to be too concerned. "The reality is if you compare Meghan to the Duchess of Cambridge, the Duchess of Cambridge has had to deal with much scarier instances involving photographers than Meghan Markle has ever had to deal with," she observed.
"Realistically, the Duchess of Cambridge has had to deal with much, much scarier instances involving the paparazzi and has come so much closer to something dangerous and scary happening than we've seen happen to the Duchess of Sussex."
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I don't think this comparison is necessarily called for, but if we're going to go there, let's get into it.
It's absolutely true that Kate Middleton has had some scary incidents with the paparazzi: She was reportedly harassed when the press found out about her dating Prince William, and was even once chased down by a car full of paparazzi, apparently.
To this day, the Cambridges have to deal with unauthorized footage of them and their children ending up on the internet, something that rightfully incenses Prince William especially.
Markle hasn't been involved in a paparazzi car chase, but the British media has been intensely critical of her, often using thinly veiled racist language, and the Sussexes literally left the U.K. in large part because their treatment by the media was becoming too much. And paparazzi have taken unauthorized photos of Archie, plus photos of the Sussexes after Markle had a miscarriage.
So perhaps we can see that both women have suffered at the hands of the press and avoid undue comparisons.
Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.
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