{"id":273676,"date":"2025-11-20T14:12:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T14:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/273676\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T14:12:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T14:12:09","slug":"she-learns-she-grows-meghan-markle-is-making-my-generation-cringe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/273676\/","title":{"rendered":"She learns! She grows! Meghan Markle is making my generation cringe"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been a busy week for the Duchess of Sussex. First the trailer of With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration shows her literally rocking around the Christmas tree ahead of its release on Netflix in December. Then she \u201cmeets her moment\u201d on the December cover of Harper\u2019s Bazaar US<\/a>, with accompanying behind-the-scenes video of Meghan, hair loosely pulled back, bare feet, nearly bare face (what\u2019s called \u201cno make-up make-up\u201d by an industry that would recoil from an actual bare face) and a low-key, relatable working-mum wardrobe of shirts, trousers and a trench coat \u2014 from The Row, Brunello Cucinelli and Celine, where each one would cost more than a hundred batches of preserves would.<\/p>\n

\"Harper's<\/p>\n

The December cover of Harper\u2019s Bazaar US<\/p>\n

MALICK BODIAN\/HARPER\u2019S BAZAAR<\/p>\n

\"Meghan<\/p>\n

MALICK BODIAN\/HARPER\u2019S BAZAAR<\/p>\n

So far, so big news for millennials. Because the Bazaar interviewer sets up Meghan, 44, as a spokeswoman for my generation, who are, the writer says, \u201chated by our elders for our generational insistence on authenticity and social justice, derided by those younger for our earnest belief that the world is capable of change \u2014 what Gen Z<\/a> has labelled \u2018cringe\u2019.\u201d I\u2019m 37, and after reading this I\u2019m not sure Gen Y are going to beat the allegations.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do powerful women flex? Do they lead with deference or dominance? Meghan seems to lead with affability,\u201d the interviewer notes. While waiting for the affability, we\u2019re transported to \u201ca grand brownstone on the Upper East Side that belongs to one of Meghan\u2019s friends\u201d. Which isn\u2019t a flex \u2014 if Meghan\u2019s friends happen to own grand brownstones, that isn\u2019t showing off, it\u2019s just authenticity. \u201cWhen I enter, the house manager announces, \u2018Meghan, Duchess of Sussex\u2019, even though we appear to be the only other two people in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Is Meghan beyond parody? You\u2019d think so, watching Spitting Image<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Meghan<\/p>\n

MALICK BODIAN\/HARPERS BAZAAR<\/p>\n

Later, apropos of nothing but probably just more off-the-cuff proof of affability, \u201cMeghan tells me that she\u2019ll be having lunch soon with Gloria Steinem, or Glo, as she calls her.\u201d No further details are given, but possibly they will talk about all the learning and growing that has happened while Meghan has been doing the work, as we therapy speak-mad millennials call it. \u201cThe first problem \u2026 is not to learn, but to unlearn,\u201d Gloria Steinem \u2014 or Glo, as the lifelong activist must love being called \u2014 once said. Perhaps they\u2019ll brainstorm another TV special, \u201cWith Love, Meghan: Growing and Learning (and Unlearning) with Glo\u201d.<\/p>\n

They dip into working motherhood. \u201cWhen I ask Meghan<\/a> what she hopes her kids see when they see her working, she tells me, \u2018I hope they see the value of being brave. They saw it when the jam was just a pot on the stove, bubbling.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Nothing says bravery like launching a brand with just the support of your prince husband and only your very close, dearest friends to shore you up if you fail. (Although perhaps it helps if some of those friends are oligarchs; the Sussexes were hobnobbing with the Bezoses and Zuckerbergs at Kris Jenner\u2019s birthday party last week.) But the Sussex children, aged four and six, will need bravery if they\u2019re to \u201cface things that feel completely insurmountable every day\u201d, which Meghan says they do, without listing the insurmountable things for us, but I\u2019m sure I can think of a million insurmountable hurdles for the next generation of the original nepo babies, royals.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Meghan Markle\u2019s acting comeback: the film critic\u2019s verdict<\/a><\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the millennial parenting style. Most of my friends ricochet between gentle and screaming when their child\u2019s scooter veers too close to the road. Meghan \u201chas made it a study, using books and apps, a diligence that has made her an authority within her friend circle. \u2018She\u2019s just so smart, and I feel like no matter what, I can always learn from her,\u2019 says [Serena] Williams.\u201d Perhaps 2026 will bring us a \u201cWith Love, Meghan: Raising Little Princes\u201d parenting special.<\/p>\n

At least she\u2019s not going through this alone. \u201cShe puts her hand on her heart when she talks about her husband. \u2018He loves me so boldly, fully\u2026\u2019.\u201d I black out temporarily, my head overloaded by the thought of the Instagram posts this will inspire. With Harry, Meghan explains, \u201cYou have someone who just has this childlike wonder and playfulness.\u201d Imagining the reactions at Forest Lodge this morning \u2014 it\u2019s enough to bring a tear to your eye.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It has been a busy week for the Duchess of Sussex. First the trailer of With Love, Meghan:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273677,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-273676","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}