Now that the new royal baby is born, I can finally focus all of my obsessive energies on gearing up for the next big event in the House of Windsor: Northwestern alumna Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s upcoming wedding on May 19. And what better way to prepare for such a monumental occasion than to watch the teaser trailer for Lifetime’s Meghan and Harry: A Royal Romance? The film will premiere on May 13, just in time for the big day.
If that wasn’t the best 60 seconds of your recent memory then you must have an exceptionally great life. Set against the Calum Scott’s “You Are The Reason,” the trailer shows Meghan and Harry meeting for their first date, with Meghan asking “So, what is it you do?”
Oh honey. Little do you know.
Murray Fraser and Fitz-Henley (Harry and Meghan, respectively) look the part more than I even thought possible. As the trailer goes on and the pressure of publicity and speculation over the relationship between the British prince and Meghan, a divorced, half-Black American actress, becomes more apparent, the actors showcase the stress that one would expect from two people who just want to be happy together.
I, of course, might be the guiltiest of romanticizing royal life, but the trailer is a reminder for all the those like me who may forget that, in the end, these people are human beings who love and hurt just like the rest of us. When Meghan says “I have dealt with trolls and death threats,” we have to remember that there’s more to this vitriol than that any girlfriend of a prince might endure – it’s racialized, pointed. A doofish-looking man I’ll take the liberty of assuming to be Prince Charles asks, “Is rocking the boat part of the appeal here?”, suggesting that maybe that skepticism wasn’t just coming from outside of the family.
Though Meghan was already a successful actress and an advocate for UN Women when she met Harry, the trailer suggests at the devaluation of her other accomplishments, with paparazzi concerned only with her relationship to the prince. It’s made clear to her that she’ll have to give up the life she’s made for herself permanently be with the man she loves - as a career-oriented woman who’s currently studying at Meghan’s alma mater, that scares me. I take comfort in knowing she’ll use her platform to further advocate for women and those in need.
Though the trailer was exciting to watch, it left me incredibly stressed. It shows Meghan not only laughing or crying, but going through all the perplexing emotions that come with loving someone else.
I’m just glad I know how the movie will end.