Marrying a prince is supposed to be a fairy tale. The British royal family shows it’s anything but

Once upon a time, girls around the world grabbed their favorite tiaras and raced out of bed to see a great love story unfold. A handsome prince plucked a beautiful maiden from her humdrum life and decided she was worthy of being his wife. Her happily ever after was about to begin.

This wasn’t just a fairy tale. To millions, it appeared to be the reality for Princess Diana, Kate Middleton, and Meghan Markle

They were living the dream so many have had — marrying a prince. But as Kate’s recent Photoshop controversy reveals, there is no “happily ever after” for a British princess

When a dashing prince marries a “regular” girl, the royal wedding fantasy becomes a reality.

“People love the idea of a fairy tale being a real thing,” royal commentator Kristen Meinzer said. “They love that idea of a girl just being plucked from obscurity and being chosen by someone who could have his pick of the litter. He could date anyone he wanted, he could marry anybody, but he chose her.”

By making the fairy tale feel real, the royal family appears far more accessible — and the British tabloids are more than happy to help.
All three princesses were a boon to the monarchy’s popularity. Diana and Charles’ wedding was watched by 750 million people worldwide. After he said “I do” to Kate, William was praised by former British Prime Minister Sir John Major, who said the public saw him “as a very human individual.” When Harry proposed to Meghan, outlets claimed their union would “breathe new life into an ancient institution

The model for Kate and Meghan is even narrower than it was for Diana, as the media expects them to match the beloved “People’s Princess.” Countless articles praise the pair when they wear Diana’s jewelry or mirror moments from her life. In his 2023 book “Endgame,” royal expert Omid Scobie wrote that William and Kate were instructed to emulate Diana in public whenever possible, and staffers went to great lengths to style both Kate and Meghan in outfits that looked like hers.

William and Harry watched their wives get picked apart by the tabloids whenever they deviated from Diana, yet she was also a prime target of their negative press.

While the princes were hailed for foregoing blue-blooded brides, Kate and Meghan’s upbringings were also used against them. As Kate became a fixture of the tabloids, so did the narrative that she had always set her sights on marrying up. The rags were happy to discuss how she and her sister Pippa were known as the “Wisteria Sisters,” climbing the social ladder as fast as the invasive plant.

Meanwhile, the tabloids’ coverage of Meghan’s roots was marked with racist undertones. One 2016 Daily Mail headline proclaimed she was “(almost) straight outta Compton,” while another story described her mother as a “dreadlocked African-American lady from the wrong side of the tracks.” The insults have continued to follow Meghan over the years, such as when a hacker redirected her foundation’s website to a video of Kanye West singing “Gold Digger.”

Meinzer pointed out the gold-digger stereotype presumes that the man has no free will. British tabloids have been pushing that story about Meghan and Harry since they stepped back from the royal family in January 2020 — it was called “Megxit,” after all. The duchess became “Manipulative Meghan,” and outlets reported she took “total control” of Harry’s life.

There’s an undeniable power that comes with the monarchy’s wealth, which was valued at $28 billion in 2021. But what must a princess give up in exchange for money and status?

“This is what happens when you fall in love with a prince,” Tatar said. “You trade in your voice.”

Life in the royal family requires a delicate dance of supporting the monarchy without stealing the spotlight from the crown or heir.

In the 2022 Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan,” Meghan spoke of how she transformed her wardrobe and wore muted tones to “blend in” and avoid upstaging anyone else in the family.