Meghan Markle “didn’t like Britain” and shouldn’t “mislead the nation” into “thinking we’ve behaved appallingly towards her,” Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine told The Reaction this week.
Hosts Sarah and Andrew Pierce discussed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s ‘semi-royal’ tour of Nigeria last weekend in the latest episode of the Mail’s YouTube show, which you can watch here.
The presenters suggested it was more of a “presidential tour” for people like Meghan, 42, who “would never accept royal life because she would always have to stay one step behind Prince Harry,” according to Andrew.
“She needs to be a major player in her life. But I mean, that’s okay, just be honest about it,” Sarah said. “Don’t make everyone go through this whole thing. Don’t gaslight an entire nation.
‘Let not the whole of Britain think that we behaved appallingly towards her, because we did not. People liked her. It’s just that she didn’t like us. She didn’t want the assignment,” the columnist insisted.
Sarah noted how fans seemed happy to see Meghan, even more so than Harry, and how the mother-of-two seemed to take charge during the three-day visit, calling the prince a “beta male.”
She added: “It was a lot [Meghan] presented himself and he just went along for the ride.
“I mean, maybe that’s what he wants in his life and it’s entirely possible that he just wants to be a beta male.”
Sarah said the Duchess “needs to be a leading man in her life,” adding that on the Nigeria tour she is “the leading man, the star of the show and that’s how she likes it.”
Andrew, meanwhile, agreed. He suggested the visit felt “more like a presidential tour,” noting that Meghan “thinks she has a potential career in Democratic politics because that story broke a few years ago.” And it felt like she was in campaign mode.”
Harry and Meghan’s tour of Nigeria, during which they visited Lagos and Abuja at the invitation of the military, was aimed at promoting the mental health of soldiers and empowering young people.
Prince Harry and Meghan attended the Dream Big Basketball Clinic in Lagos, Nigeria last Sunday
Meghan helps take a selfie as Harry watches at the Wuse Lightway Academy in Abuja last week
Meghan smiles as she receives flowers during a sitting volleyball match in Abuja last Saturday
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Lagos Governor’s House in Nigeria last Sunday
The couple attended events related to Harry’s Invictus Games, which Nigeria plans to host in the future.
The Sussexes were also welcomed to the Lagos State Government House and met with military officials at the Defense Headquarters in Abuja.
The Response is available every Wednesday on the The Daily Mail YouTube channel.