Meghan Markle made her first official appearance since presenting Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor to the world at Trooping the Colour this weekend. She arrived by carriage with Prince Harry and Camilla and Kate, which was supposed to shut down any talk of the two not getting along but, well, you know the British press will find something else to hate on. We’ll get to that sh-t in a minute. Let’s focus on the House Sussex presence at the event first. 

It was pretty low-key, non? Meghan’s outfit was subdued. Navy isn’t a colour that screams “look at me”. People were, however, looking at a new ring on her finger, a third ring, along with her engagement and wedding rings, that some are assuming is a one year anniversary gift from Harry, or what others call a “push present”. 

Harry and Meghan were standing on the balcony, same place where they were positioned last year – camera right, back behind the Queen and Prince Charles, and also behind all the royal grand and great-grandchildren, who’d understandably be more excited about the airplanes and the soldiers and the spectacle. So, overall, Trooping was light on the Sussexes which makes sense too given royal ranking and all that royal hierarchical business, even though, at least on public popularity, particularly online, and outside the UK, Meghan’s certainly a front-pager. The Cambridges were much more prominent on this day, however, as they should be. William will be King. Big G will be King. Those spots are their birthright and, as I wrote earlier, Will seems to be more interested in getting that shine these days. And it’s not like Harry, who was raised with these rules, wouldn’t know when it’s appropriate to advance and when it’s time to hang back. Not that Harry ever was that prince who rued his birth order (hi Andrew). Harry has always been the one who’s been like, thank God it’s not me. 

Still, despite the fact that the Sussexes kept a pretty low profile at Trooping, Meghan still made conversation. Here’s an example of the kind of grossness that people have been calling out where the British press is concerned, despite their attempts to deny their bias:

LOL. Katie Hopkins is a professional troll so she knew what she was doing. But you can read the undertones there in the word choices: “radiant, regal”, in comparison to Meghan’s lack of adjectives – basically she’s the “other one” here, and that’s the dog whistling, her “otherness”, non-whiteness, being the messaging, a message that is instantly familiar to people of colour who’ve been enduring it, well, for forever.  

So this is what we’re dealing with here where Meghan is concerned. This likely won’t stop…so how does she handle it going forward? She’s been an official member of the royal family for a year now. Many have struggled with the British media’s relentless criticism. Princess Diana struggled with it as a teenager coming into the biggest spotlight and becoming the most famous woman in the world. Meghan Markle is now one of the most famous women in the world. And the way she manages that fame is going to be a case study – for a long, long, long time.