Love her or hate her, Meghan Markle is firmly planted by her husband Prince Harry’s side, and she’s not budging for anyone. The latter is allegedly a proven fact, as a brief video of the Duchess of Sussex is at the center of claims she is “petty” and jealous of another Black woman.
The circulated clip shows the “Suits” actress present Harry and members of his polo team with a trophy after winning the Royal Salute Polo Challenge charity match at the Grand Champions Polo Club in Wellington, Florida, on April 12. The event benefited Sentebale, an organization co-founded by the Duke in 2006 to help South African youth living with HIV and AIDS.
Elsewhere in the video, she poses for photos with the men before being joined on stage by two women, one of whom has been identified as Dr. Sophie Chandauka. She serves as the chair of the charity.
Her résumé boasts two decades of experience as an attorney working in corporate finance and other operations functions at global corporations such as Meta, the parent company of Facebook.
A brief moment of perceived confusion about where Chandauka should stand for the photo opportunity has been interpreted as Markle slighting the distinguished Member of the British Empire.
At first, the Zimbabwe-born woman attempted to stand by Harry’s right side as she joined in holding the trophy, but shuffling quickly ensued when the actress appeared to direct both women to stand to the left of her.
The woman that #MeghanMarkle refused to let stand next to Harry is Dr Sophie Chandauka, MBE-chair of Sentebale. She’s more accomplished than Markle will EVER be-which explains the petty jealousy. Embarrassing. Such a feminist. #MeghanMarkleEXPOSED #MeghanMarkleIsAJoke pic.twitter.com/2DDrRdUB2p
— Princess CarParkle (@unreMARKLEble) April 14, 2024
The final image shows the following lineup: a polo teammate, Harry, Markle, Chandauka, and the other woman. “Ohh soooo cringe! Of course all about the self proclaimed duchess… as if she’s the one that’s won the trophy” said one person when the video was shared on Instagram.
Another person cynically remarked, “Meghan could have moved a side and let the lady stand next to him but then meghan only thinks about herself and what she wants and is scared he is going to escape…”
The Los Angeles native, however, purportedly directed her husband’s colleague to take a more prominent place in the photo. She allegedly said, “You belong up front and centre!” A Twitter user said it was “the lovely moment #MeghanMarkle ensures Dr Sophie is at the centre of the pic – where she belongs.”
The Royal Family members have been divisive topics of debates since the public learned of their relationship in 2016. Scrutiny amplified in 2018 following their regal wedding and again in 2020 when they officially stepped away from their royal duties.
Deep-rooted tensions between the couple and British family have become public fodder amid the ongoing fallout from their decision to move to the U.S. four years ago. They currently reside in California with their two children.
