Meghan Markle found herself at the center of a major controversy shortly after she announced that she was pregnant with Archie.
At the time, online trolls accused the Duchess of Sussex of faking her pregnancy with her son. Others also became convinced that Markle hired a surrogate to carry her child and that her growing baby bump was merely a pillow.
The majority of the dubious claims pertaining to Meghan Markle’s pregnancy were shared on Twitter. In fact, one of the shocking tweets read, “After the release of Archie’s birth certificate Meghan and Harry had no choice but to come clean.”
Meghan Markle's Pregnancy Conspiracy Theories Were Derogatory In Nature
However, Prince Harry and Markle never came clean about anything because the latter carried her two children in her womb.
Twitter also faced backlash for allowing the topic to circulate on the platform for months on end. They later apologized for their grave error.
Law expert Amber Melville-Brown told Newsweek that the stories about Markle’s alleged fake pregnancy were derogatory in nature.
“This article is defamatory allegations, inside conspiracy theories, wrapped up as reporting. The tweet excites readers to dive in and read on with the expectation that the article will explain how Meghan and Harry 'came clean' and 'admitted to lying to the world about their son' but readers will be sorely disappointed if that's what they're expecting. The article may include reams of rumor and column inches of conspiracy theory, but the bait of its headline doesn't land the fish of the accusation,” she said.
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Meghan Markle Wasn’t The First Royal To Be Accused Of Faking Her Pregnancy
Meanwhile, it was recently revealed that Markle wasn’t the first royal mom to be accused of faking her pregnancy. Years ago, the royal family had the so-called birth verification protocol that allowed the public to verify a female royal’s pregnancy.
In 1688, Mary of Modena was accused of faking her pregnancy. In order to squash the speculations, King James II invited 42 prominent figures to witness the birth of his son, James Francis Edward.
But even after witnessing the birth of James Francis Edward, the conspiracy theories still persisted. Some royal fans claimed that a newborn baby was snuck into the delivery room while no one was looking.
According to Express, the questions surrounding James Francis Edward’s birth resulted in him not being styled as king. After all, some people were convinced that he was not his parents’ biological son.
Years later, Queen Elizabeth decided to abolish the outdated protocol shortly after Prince Charles’ birth. This meant that the monarch afforded female royals more privacy when having their children.
Meghan Markle Felt The Firm Didn’t Protect Her Amid Her Struggles
Despite the abolishment of the birth verification protocol, Markle still didn’t receive the protection that she needed from online trolls. While she was pregnant with Archie, the royal family didn’t ask the trolls to stop spreading the conspiracy theories surrounding her baby bump and pregnancy.
During her interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess of Sussex revealed that she struggled with her mental health during this time.
“Yeah, there was [a breaking point]. I just didn't see a solution. I would sit up at night, and I was just like, 'I don't understand how all of this is being churned out—and again I wasn't seeing it—but it's almost worse when you feel it through the expression of my mom or my friends or them calling me crying like, 'Meg, they're not protecting you.' And I realized it was all happening just because I was breathing,” she said (via Elle).
Markle then told Winfrey that she also had some suicidal thoughts and admitted that she was ashamed of herself when she told Prince Harry about them.
“Look, I was really ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it, to Harry especially, because I know how much loss he's suffered. But I knew that if I didn't say it that I would do it—and I just didn't want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. And I remember how [Harry] just cradled me and I was, I went to the institution and said that I needed to go somewhere to get help, said that I've never felt this way before and I need to go somewhere, and they said I couldn't, that it wouldn't be good for the institution,” Markle said.
The constant struggles that Markle faced led to her and Prince Harry’s decision to quit The Firm for good.
Check back for more stories and updates about Meghan Markle here at EpicStream!
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