Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, made headlines in her recent interview with Oprah Winfrey when she accused the royal family of racism against herself and her son Archie. The royal family retaliated by accusing her of mistreating her servants before later tuning down their tone to an apology and a promise to investigate the allegations. It has gone down as one of the most embarrassing moments for the queen and her family, who had managed to stay away from any embarrassment for some time. Here is a look at the ten worst embarrassments for the queen’s family before the duchess’ interview.
Markel’s Explosive Interview
The royal family has had many scandals over the years, but racial segregation couldn’t be imagined until Meghan became a member of the family. After her son Archie was born, the Duke and Duchess declared their desire to step back from their royal responsibilities and decided to move out of the palace. Then came the explosive interview that the royals gave Oprah Winfrey in which Meghan lamented about the hard times she had faced in the palace.
She said that she was told her son would not receive a royal title and that he wouldn’t have royal security. Mehgan also said that some royals discussed just how dark her son’s skin would be before he was even born. It has gone down as the family’s most damaging interview since Princess Diana’s interview in 1995. The royal family responded that they took her complaints seriously and would address the issues privately.
Prince Andrew And Jeffrey Epstein
In 2011, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, was forced to step down as the Uk’s trade envoy after photos of him and Jeffrey Epstein in New York emerged. Epstein had been arrested in 2008 for soliciting prostitution services with a minor and served 13 months in prison for it. Most public figures, including President Bill Clinton, had since denounced the sex offender.
In 2020, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, came out publicly and accused the Duke of having assaulted her sexually a total of three times. During an embarrassing interview at the palace, the prince committed a huge PR mess when he said he wasn’t ashamed of his relationship with the offender that committed suicide in his cell in 2019. He was soon forced to quit all his royal duties and has since stayed away from the spotlight.
Fergie Bribed
Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, has had her fair share of royal scandals, including her own relationship with Jeffrey Epstein that allegedly included a payment of $15,000. Sarah’s financial problems put her in a lot of trouble, and they allegedly multiplied after she divorced the queen’s third-born son. In 2010 when she has dubbed the Duchess of debt, Fergie fell victim to the trap by an investigative journalist who posed as a rich tycoon that wanted access to her ex-husband. Fergie said she could make it happen for £500,000, about $750,000 at the time. She asked for at least $40,000 in cash. She later apologized for accepting the bribe, saying it was a lapse in judgment but not before the royal family distanced itself from her troubles.
Prince Harry In A Nazi Costume
Prince Harry is now one of the most popular royals. He is mature and seemingly more free-styled than most of the other members of the family, but that wasn’t the case while he was growing up. He was once sent to rehab for one day as a discipline by his dad for using marijuana. While serving in the army, Harry was also photographed in a club in Las Vegas, partying naked with a girl. The prince’s most embarrassing moment came in 2005 when 20-Year old Harry attended a costume party wearing a Nazi uniform complete with a Swastika Armband. It was condemned by the media and never seemed to fade away even after the young prince apologized multiple times.
Fergie’s Toe Nibbling Scandal
Fergie’s money problems came after her divorce, but even before that, she was a pain in the butt for the royal family. The queen allegedly stopped paying her bills because of her extravagance just before she became estranged from her husband for alleged unfaithfulness in 1992. Six months later, Sara and her financial adviser John Bryan were filmed at a holiday villa in France. The billionaire was photographed sucking at Sarah’s toes before the couple proceeded to kiss in the pool. It was the breaking point for her marriage.
Squidgygate
Princess Diana was described as smarter than Sarah Ferguson as she negotiated a handsome settlement of $20 million during her divorce from Prince Charles. Her divorce was all over the news, and it all started after rumours emerged of cheating in the marriage by both Diana and Charles. Then came the proof in the form of recorded telephone conversations. The intimate phone call between the princess of Wales and James Gilbey, heir to the owner of Gilbey’s gin, was explosive. It exposed her dissatisfaction with the royal family and the mistreatment she was facing. In the conversation, James called Diana Darling and Squidgy multiple times, leading to the name Squidgy gate or Diana Gate.
Camillagate
1992 was the worst year for the royal family, with many scandals surrounding the queen’s children and their marriages. Squidgygate was made in 1990, but as it turned out, Charles had already started cheating on Diana and just hadn’t been caught. A recording of the phone call he had made to Camilla Bowles, who was married to Andrew Parker Bowles at the time. In the recording, Charles told Camilla that he loved her and missed being his tampon. It is not clear who made the recording, but it was a perfect comeback for Diana, who had been left to hang by the family for being the unfaithful wife.
Diana’s Explosive Interview
After Squidgy gate, it was obvious that Diana and Charles’ marriage was over, but Diana wasn’t willing to be trampled on by the family. She conducted an interview with the BBC Panorama journalist Martin Bashir in 1995, telling her side of the story, which was seen as a huge blow to the royal family. Diana confirmed that Charles cheated on her with Camilla for the better part of their marriage.
She hit back at the royal family and complained about how her marriage was crowded because it had three people in it. It was proof of the rumours that Charles had an affair with a married woman and, the future king had to come out in public to confess to adultery. Diana’s ties to the royal family were completely cut after that interview.
Andrew’s ‘Porn star’ Girlfriend
Before Sarah Ferguson, Prince Andrew was poised to marry Koo Stark, an actress that he dated for 18 months who was allegedly a close friend of the royal family. However, the relationship fell apart shortly before Andrew went ahead to marry Fergie. Koo was an actress who had allegedly starred in some adult films in the 1970s, which is why the tabloids named her a soft-core porn star.
It is alleged that the queen had no knowledge of the nature of her acting when they were introduced, although Koo went ahead to sue many tabloids that called her a porn star winning settlements from some of them. The news of the prince having dated a porn star hit the media harder than that of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson.
Edward VIII’s Association With Adolph Hitler
In 1936, the former Duke of Windsor made history when he abdicated the throne in favour of his brother King George Vi. The Duke chose to live with his American divorcee wife in France rather than leave her to keep the throne. In 1937, the former king and his wife visited Germany and were given lots of royal honours by the Fuhrer.
Then came the rumours that Edward was a Nazi sympathizer who may have been secretly working for Hitler. Other documents revealed after the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945 revealed that there had been multiple correspondences between the former monarch and the dictator and that he was probably part of a plot by Hitler to take over the British government. Some reports also say the royal family covered up Edward and Simpson’s close ties to the Nazis.