Meghan Markle Reveals The Worst Thing About Being a Royal Mom

To say that the past three years for Meghan Markle have been a whirlwind might mean putting it lightly. She got married, became a princess, moved to the United Kingdom, faced relentless racism and systemic bullying with little protection, had a baby, moved on from the royal family, then moved to another country with her husband and son, started a business, had another baby, and all the big and small moments between.

Meghan has navigated something most of us can’t begin to understand, with her husband, Prince Harry, by her side. In a new interview, Meghan opens up about the decision she and Harry made to leave the U.K., hinting at the best part about leaving her royal life: a life with her kids.

Meghan sat down with Allison P. Davis from The Cut. The two chatted about several different things, including the “big adjustment” from an actress to a working member of “the Firm” and the decision to leave. In the interview, Meghan made comparisons between life in the U.S. versus the U.K. and hinted that the best part about leaving royal life is the life her kids can have now, and the privacy that allows them.

“There’s literally a structure by which if you want to release photos of your child, as a member of the family, you first have to give them to the Royal Rota,” the U.K. media pool, Meghan said. She explained that media outlets were given first dibs to share any photos of the royal kids. But, given how toxic the British media has been to Meghan and Harry since they went public with their relationship, that protocol didn’t sit right with Meghan.

“Why would I give the very people that are calling my children the N-word a photo of my child before I can share it with the people that love my child?” she questioned. “You tell me how that makes sense and then I’ll play that game.”

Later in the interview, Meghan shares another example of the best part about leaving royal life. She explained that if Archie, who is now 3 years old, went to school in the U.K., she would never be able to do the regular mom things like school pickup and drop off. Meghan explained it by saying that every pickup or drop-off would include “a royal photo call with a press pen of 40 people snapping pictures.”

That, too, didn’t sit well with Meghan. “Sorry, I have a problem with that. That doesn’t make me obsessed with privacy,” she said. “That makes me a strong and good parent protecting my child.” However, instead of having to share those small but important moments with the media, Archie gets to be a cheerful kid with a mom who picks him up from school.

When Harry and Meghan said they wanted to step back from royal life to have more privacy, this is the kind of privacy they mean. While they’re still very much in the public eye, the life they have now affords them to the ability to protect their kids’ privacy, and their right to have a happy childhood.