It’s not like there haven’t been all kinds of celebrities lining up one after the other in support of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. But Beyoncé is THE celebrity whose support of Meghan Markle generates much more attention than the rest, even making headlines on CNN. Because, of course, Beyoncé is the Queen of another Empire. And it may be a more influential Empire, especially in these times: it’s the Empire of Culture. It used to be that the culture was the British Empire, and the British monarchy its crown jewel. More and more, independent of what’s happening with Harry and Meghan, we are finding that what was dominant culture is now becoming increasingly irrelevant. And so, in these times, in many circles, and becoming ever more, perhaps it’s not the Queen of England’s protection that has the most value, but the Queen of Culture’s protection – and Meghan has enjoyed the shelter of Beyoncé and its other ancillary benefits for some time.
There was a sense that Beyoncé’s word on the Television Event of the Year was coming. Miss Tina let us know that it was for sure a conversation in the Beyoncé Universe:
That, by the way, not that we needed it, is another reminder of what Oprah pulled off on Sunday night: a monoculture moment. When you were watching the Television Event of the Year? Beyoncé was too. Like in real time. In 2021, that’s almost unimaginable except…it actually happened.
Anyway, Miss Tina had more to say about Meghan and Meghan-adjacent matters. Including what’s going on with Piers Morgan:
Then, the Queen weighed in. And the timing of that is… chef’s kiss. I don’t know if she intended it this way but first, it was the Queen of England’s statement and after that, Beyoncé decided it was time for us to hear from her.
Like I said at the top of this post, cultural currency is key. Beyoncé has been talking about cultural currency in relation to the status quo and what matters is not necessarily Grammys or, in Meghan’s case, titles and all those past markers of value, but the way impact is measured now and in the days to come. Right now and going forward, Beygency support may just be more important than the Queen’s guard.
