Nary a day goes by anymore without reports of the royal family catching flak for something, with many of those reports centered on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. And, unfortunately, today is no exception — Meghan Markle is being criticized for a reported photo ban after a fan came forward to the UK’s Daily Telegraph (via the Express). Per the irked fan, Meghan’s surprise appearance at Wimbledon wasn’t without drama.
It seemed like a lovely little unexpected cameo when Meghan took a break from maternity leave last week to cheer on her bestie Serena Williams at Wimbledon. The Duchess looked happy and laid-back in the company of two longtime friends, Northwestern alums Genevieve Hillis and Lindsay Roth. But according to a spectator by the name of Sally Jones, 64, Meghan was allegedly more uptight than she appeared, having her staff order fans in the surrounding vicinity not to take any pictures of Meghan. The reason given? She was there “in a private capacity.”
In painting a picture of the situation for the Telegraph, Jones made it sound as though Meghan’s security guard wasn’t on board with the request. “I think this royal protection officer was quite embarrassed. He appeared a bit mystified as to why he was being asked to make such a request,” Jones said, referred to the photo ban as “another example of silly control freakery.”
It’s absurd for Ms Markle to demand privacy as she sits in the royal box on a publicly-funded jolly with her mates… https://t.co/vcaymV3dyt
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 9, 2019
The issue of a PPO trying to stop people from taking pictures is a well worn one. As long as they have assured themselves the person is not a threat, it shouldn’t be their job. And it’s turned what should be a nice picture caption into a story being discussed worldwide.
— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) July 9, 2019
In fact, Jones alleged she wasn’t even trying to take a photo of Meghan, recounting, “I told him it was bonkers and that even if I had been trying to snap the Duchess I’d have got a blurry picture of her right ear.”
So, what’s the real sitch? While an official palace representative hasn’t responded to the rumor, a palace source reportedly told the Telegraph, “It’s not unusual for people accompanying Members of the Royal Family at private, or public, events to ask members of the public not to take photographs. It is to enable Members of the Royal Family to engage with people and events.”
There’s also the fact that this report comes from one woman speaking to a single source, meaning it has yet to be substantiated by anyone. Can we call a flag on the play? Wouldn’t more people come forward if this was true? Isn’t it possible that perhaps people were encroaching on Meghan’s space in the attempt to snap a picture? That would be a major distraction, and, since Meghan was there to support Williams, maybe she and her team were simply trying to keep the attention surrounding her to a minimum.
There are any number of explanations that justify such a request, if one was actually made. It’s starting to seem more like Meghan isn’t guilty of “silly control freakery” so much as certain people are intent on disliking her.
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