Intense media scrutiny of Meghan MarkleB次元官网网址檚 extended family has left a sour taste for many Canadian tourists and expats observing wall-to-wall coverage of the impending royal wedding.
The voracious appetite for tidbits on the upcoming nuptials came as a shock to British Columbia tourists Karen and Bill Chandler, who say they were blindsided by reporters during a tour of Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
Rather than recounting the grand splendour of the historic home to more than 900 years of royals, the coupleB次元官网网址檚 biggest memory was of journalists and camera crews preparing to cover SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 nuptials.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 crazy up there, itB次元官网网址檚 just crazy,B次元官网网址� Bill Chandler exclaimed Thursday after visiting the historic town where Prince Harry will wed Markle, about an hour and a half from London by car.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e right in your face.B次元官网网址�
The retirees didnB次元官网网址檛 expect their weeklong whirlwind through London to include a glimpse into the media circus surrounding the much-hyped union of Prince Harry and his California fiancee, but itB次元官网网址檚 a unique memory they will take back with them to Victoria on Sunday.
ItB次元官网网址檚 certainly given Karen Chandler a much more sombre view of what could be in store for Markle once she officially joins the royal family.
B次元官网网址淛ust wandering through the castle I was thinking about how the press had affected DianaB次元官网网址檚 life B次元官网网址� they ruined it,B次元官网网址� she says.
B次元官网网址淛ust the hounding. (But) I believe she probably is better equipped than Diana was, much better equipped.B次元官网网址�
A palpable backlash against unflattering stories about MarkleB次元官网网址檚 family history B次元官网网址� and in particular her 73-year-old father Thomas Markle B次元官网网址� appeared to take root Thursday as the bride announced he will not walk her down the aisle as planned.
B次元官网网址淚 have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health,B次元官网网址� Markle said in a statement released by Kensington Palace.
The elder Markle is said to be recovering from an operation to clear blocked arteries after suffering a heart attack last week.
It was the latest turn in a gossip-fuelled saga that turned sadly dark in recent days. Of late, Thomas Markle has been mired in scandal over photographs of wedding preparations that were reportedly staged.
At least one outlet appeared to step back from mining estranged family members for dirt Thursday, with B次元官网网址淕ood Morning BritainB次元官网网址� reportedly dropping MarkleB次元官网网址檚 sister-in-law Tracy Dooley from their wedding coverage.
The morning TV show was widely reported to have hired Dooley and her kids as TV correspondents for its rolling coverage of the ceremony, despite the fact they were not invited and were believed to have had little contact, if at all, with Markle.
And on Tuesday, the same TV show featured a blistering attack on half-sister Samantha Markle, when Piers Morgan accused MarkleB次元官网网址檚 half-sister of being a media B次元官网网址渧ulture.B次元官网网址�
History student Clarissa Fehr of Leamington, Ont., says sheB次元官网网址檚 been turned off by relentless gossip coverage of the B次元官网网址淪uitsB次元官网网址� actress B次元官网网址� a successful biracial, divorced American who is challenging royal traditions on many levels.
B次元官网网址淎 lot of it just terrorizes her character,B次元官网网址� the 22-year-old exchange student says of the coverage sheB次元官网网址檚 observed.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 all about her history and what she did to be successful, but then in reality itB次元官网网址檚 kind of what everyone has to do to be successful.B次元官网网址滲次元官网网址�
Fellow exchange student Lauren Johnston agreed, also invoking the tragic death of the late Princess of Wales, who died in a Paris car crash in August 1997.
B次元官网网址淚 feel like the Meghan situation can turn into a Diana situation,B次元官网网址� says the 19-year-old Johnston, studying media and communications on an exchange with her school in Abbotsford, B.C.
B次元官网网址淲e saw what Princess Diana had to go through back when she got married and all the health problems that she had, which is unfortunate.B次元官网网址�
Canadian-born academic Susan Rudy points to a seeming preoccupation with socio-economic class in the British media, detecting an underlying narrative in which Markle is cast as a woman escaping a dark history.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a sad story and sheB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址榚scapedB次元官网网址� that, thatB次元官网网址檚 part of the class story B次元官网网址� that if you escape that, thatB次元官网网址檚 to be applauded, instead of: What would you lose if you lose contact with a particular group like a class-based group?B次元官网网址� says the London, Ont.-born Rudy, who moved to London in 2011.
However, not all British media is like that, sheB次元官网网址檚 quick to add.
B次元官网网址淭he thing I like about Britain is that thereB次元官网网址檚 an educated press here B次元官网网址� the Guardian, particularly, a person can count on for actual information and facts,B次元官网网址� says Rudy, a senior research fellow in the English department at Queen Mary University of London
Still, there appears to be ravenous demand for salacious stories, notes Johnston, an aspiring journalist.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e looked online at job opportunities here versus Vancouver B次元官网网址� and print journalism and newspapers here are really prominent, which I think differs from Canada, as well,B次元官网网址� she says.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e printing newspapers every day so they just need content constantly.B次元官网网址�
Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press
