The Royal Witch Hunt: Royal family members around globe who had to drop the title over public scrutiny
After the bombshell interview by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the beginning of March 2021, the world has still not been able to stop buzzing about the shocking revelations and claims. The CBS tell-all with Oprah Winfrey saw the former Duchess of Sussex allege there were conversations and concerns surrounding how dark her son Archie's skin was going to be, given that she's biracial. When she felt suicidal trapped ahead of giving birth, all help was denied as it would make 'the institution' look bad.
Most were reminded of the explosive Princess Diana interview from 1995, and how her life within the monarchy had left us stumped. But the British monarchy isn't the only one that believes in harsh treatment towards their own, a look around the world's most scandalous exits and titles dropped within monarchies show much is to do with love. Not exactly as tragic as Diana's fate perhaps, but here are royals apart from Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, who were ostracised.
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King Edward VIII's abdication for love
Before Prince Harry announced he was about to marry a divorced woman, there was his great-great-uncle King Edward VIII, who had to give up the throne for love. King Edward VIII took the throne in 1936, his reign running a short one year before he had to renounce it to marry American socialite and two-time divorcee, Wallis Simpson. When Edward proposed, the political uproar was massive, propelling the Church of England to forbid his union with Simpson. His abdication is what changed the line of succession completely, as his brother King Albert came into power, thus predetermining that the then 10-year-old Princess Elizabeth would become the future queen of England.
Princess Margaret's divorce
The Queen's sister fell in love with not just an officer from the Royal Air Force, but also a man who was already married. Margaret and Officer Captain Peter Townsend fell in love before news of his divorce to his wife turned into a whole scandal. This was spurred by how soon he proposed to Margaret after divorcing his ex-wife. The scandal tore their relationship apart within two years of engagement as the idea of a happy ending seemed inevitable at the time. After splitting from Townsend, Margaret married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones. Two years after their split became official, Margaret became the first royal since King Henry VIII in the 1500s, to get a divorce in 1978. Although the royal family had said in a statement "There are no plans for divorce proceedings," the divorce happened and became a very publicized affair.
Princess Diana: Self harm, affair and death
Before Meghan Markle became the royal rebel who broke rules to create her own space within the monarchy, it was Diana, the Princess of Wales, whom tabloids loved to make the center of controversies. Long story short, Charles married Diana and carried on his romantic relationship with his friend, Camilla Bowles-Parker. Diana wanted to be more than the Princess of Wales, and jilted by her husband, she gave bombshell interviews, before divorcing him, and dying in a tragic car crash shortly after.
The world loves to say the royals had a hand in Diana's death which was allegedly from a car crash by being chased by the paparazzi in Paris. Diana was accompanied by her then alleged beau Dodi Al Fayed, one of the three men she had been romantically linked with since Charles. But it is however one particular proclamation of Diana's that reveals how the royal family left her ostracized when she wanted an out from the marriage.
After finding out Charles had rekindled his affair with Camilla, Diana recording herself for excerpts to provide Andrew Morton, who wrote 'Diana: Her True Story'. In the audio from the tapes, Diana can be heard saying "I had told Charles I felt so desperate and I was crying my eyes out. He said I was crying wolf. ‘I’m not going to listen,’ he said. ‘You’re always doing this to me. I’m going riding now.’ So I threw myself down the stairs. The Queen comes out, absolutely horrified, shaking — she was so frightened. I knew I wasn’t going to lose the baby (though I was) quite bruised around the stomach. When he came back, you know, it was just dismissal, total dismissal. He just carried on out of the door."
Prince John's tragic seizures
Suffering from epileptic seizures, the sixth child of King George V and Queen Mary lived a short life of just 13 years, but for the last four years of his life, he was kept hidden away in York Cottage at the Sandringham estate. The royal family was of the opinion that John's sickness must not be outed in public or that would suggest a sign of weakness within the family. John, whose cause of death was one of his tragic seizures, would have grown up to be Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle.
Malaysian King Sultan Muhammad V's reign cut short
The Sultan resigned with immediate effect on January 6, thereby cutting his five-year reign shorter by a great deal. This was the first abdication in Malaysian history and although no reason was given for the abdication, it happened after he had returned from a two-month-long medical leave. Reportedly, this is when the monarch had also married a 25-year-old former Russian beauty queen in Moscow. By the end of the month, a new Malaysian king had been elected: Sultan Abdullah of Pahang.
Norway Princess Martha Louise's twin flame
After finding love in an American Shaman, the Princess of Norway decided to quit her royal title. She had fallen for the American Shama Durek, a spiritual leader whose illustrious resume brags of Goop articles. Martha had shared the news over a lengthy Instagram post; "When you meet your twin flame, you know," wrote the mother-of-three. "I have been lucky enough to have met mine... He has made me realize that unconditional love actually exists here on this planet. He embraces all of me without question or fear."
The couple was on a speaking tour called 'The Princess and the Shaman' when the daughter of King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway, said she'd discussed with her family and was going to drop her title. "I find this to be a good solution where there is a clear distinction between my business activities and my role as representative of the Royal House, and that I have thus created room for greater freedom in my business activities," she wrote on Instagram.
Dubai's disappeared princesses
Not just one, but two daughters of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum have gone missing since botched attempts at fleeing the country. In 2018, it was Princess Latifa, who was allegedly caught off the coast of Goa, India, and brought back after she tried to flee the country. Secret video messages sent from her revealed she was being held hostage, and when those stopped, concerns around her wellbeing began to swirl.
The Dubai government had assured she was fine, but this was just two decades after her older sister, Princess Shamsa, had vanished. Shamsa had unsuccessfully tried to escape while she was in the UK, back in 2000. That was the last time she was seen in public.