The Royal family, as much as its royalty, has always been the epicentre of controversies, scandals, and the favourites of the paparazzi. From Lady Diana’s death to Meghan Markle’s revelations on mental health issues, the royal family has never really been outspoken about their feminist ideals, despite being reigned the longest by a queen.
With yet another revelation from the latest book Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family, authored by Tom Quinn, regarding Kate Middlton’s fertility test before marriage, here’s a look at all the times women were at the receiving end of the Royal family’s blatant pattern of sexism.
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Kate Middleton Made To Take Fertility Test Before Marriage
Quinn’s book claims that Prince William and Middleton's royal marriage was allegedly allowed due to the "usual precautions" being taken beforehand. "These are always carried out to ensure a future queen is able to have children. If Kate had not been fertile, there is little doubt the marriage would have been off,” read an excerpt from the book.
Further, Quinn makes reference to the 1981 nuptials of Lady Diana Spencer and then-Prince Charles, implying that Diana underwent the same medical examinations before her marriage with Charles. "Diana complained in a brief encounter with the present author that she had in all innocence thought her premarital check-ups had to do with general health, only realising later on that she had actually been tested for fertility. 'I was so innocent I just went along with everything at that stage,' she said."
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Prince Charles and Lady Diana
The biggest scandal of the Royal family so far has been the couple’s marriage, issues in the marriage, Lady Diana’s statements, and revelations regarding the Royal family and her eventual death. Soon after Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s marriage in 1981, the public witnessed the fairy-tale couple's love shatter through allegations of adultery, a leaked phone conversation between the prince and his mistress, and a separation that was later changed to a divorce at the Queen's behest. And through all of this, very little was done by the Queen at the time.
In an interview where Lady Diana was talking about Prince Charle’s affair, she shared her struggles with bulimia and the lack of support from the royal family.
Meghan Markle On Royal Family’s Handling Of Mental Health Issues
The world was shocked by an interview Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, had with Oprah Winfrey in February 2021. The two had already made plans to leave their positions as royals by that point.
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“I just didn’t want to be alive anymore,” Markle said about a point after marriage and how the royal human resources responded with nothing. In response to her requests for help, they said they could not do anything about it as she was not a “paid employee of the institution”.
