EXCLUSIVE: Republican tells Royal Family to STRIP Meghan Markle of her royal title for interfering in US politics: GOP Reps. urge ‘out-of-touch’ Duchess to ‘stick to acting’ and calls her ‘Sizzler salad bar’ story ‘laughable’
- Meghan urges politicians to bring in paid parental leave as ‘national right’ as Joe Biden’s bill heads to Senate
- In her letter on Sussexes’ headed paper details growing up on a 4.99-dollar salad bar and first job at age 13
- Critics point out Duchess was privately educated paid for her now estranged lighting director father Thomas
- Royal experts say lobbying intervention is a new sign that Meghan has serious political ambitions in the US
Republicans are telling Meghan Markle to ‘stick to acting’ and daring the royal family to strip her of her title after she wrote a letter to Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer advocating for paid family leave on Thursday.
The duchess wrote a lengthy note detailing times in her childhood when she was forced to participate in middle class activities, like getting a job as a teen for gas money and eating at a salad bar, in order to push for the national paid family leave program tucked into Democrats’ budget reconciliation plan for social spending.
‘Ms. Markle’s latest interference in U.S. politics reignites the question in my mind as to why the Royal Family does not simply strip her and Harry officially of their titles, particularly since she insists on sending this under the pretense of being the Duchess of Sussex,’ Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., told DailyMail.com.
Republicans are telling Meghan Markle to ‘stick to acting’ and daring the royal family to strip her of her title after she advoacted for paid family leave on Thursday
‘While her attempts at appealing to working class families by recalling her days of eating at Sizzler were laughable, her comments make crystal clear that the passage of this massive tax-and-spend bill is aimed more at helping global elites get huge tax breaks than helping the working families she claims to have dined with.’
The letter sparked rumors that Markle was using the ‘tactics of an aspiring politician’ to lobby two senior Washington figures on Joe Biden’s proposed parental and sick leave legislation in a 1000-word letter sent on the Sussexes’ own headed paper.
‘Meghan Markle is incredibly out of touch with the American people and should stick to acting instead of trying to play politics,’ Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., told DailyMail.com.
‘The last thing we need right now is wealthy celebrities pushing their liberal agendas on the American people.’
Last October, Smith requested the Crown strip Harry and Meghan of their titles over interference in the US election.
In remarks made on the election at the end of September, as some states had begun their early voting, Prince Harry urged people to ‘reject hate speech’ while Meghan called November 3 the ‘most important election of our lifetime.’
Royals experts have also questioned whether Americans will be impressed ‘by her account of how she had to struggle’ on $4.99 salads from Sizzler when her estranged father Thomas put her through private school from kindergarten and she now lives in a $14million LA mansion while sitting on a $100million fortune.
The Duchess of Sussex’s letter was sent, she claims, as an ‘engaged citizen and a parent and as a mom’ – but is being viewed as her most overtly political intervention in US life yet after speculation she has dreams of being a Democrat politician or even to run for US President.
The extraordinary 1,030-word letter to Pelosi and Schumer, both Democrats, is written on the Sussexes new post-royal letterhead, which prominently uses their titles but not their official cyphers. In one highly-political line, she says the US’s economic systems are ‘past their expiration date’ and ‘too many Americans are forced to shortchange themselves when it comes to what matters to them’.
Angela Levin, journalist and biographer of Prince Harry, told MailOnline that while the duchess is an American citizen, the letter from ‘the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’ signed ‘on behalf of my family, Archie and Lili and Harry’, amounts to using her British title and marriage to the sixth in line to the throne to interfere in US politics.
She said: ‘Meghan’s two page letter to lobby Congress about giving money on parental leave, is obviously another step towards trying to turn herself into a politician. But the notepaper she is using is astonishingly ‘From the Office of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’ and shows how she isn’t even aware that she is talking to politicians in a republic that won its independence from the crown in 1776.
‘The truth is that the bill about parental leave is on its way to being confirmed, and could be hijack by Meghan’s belief it was largely due to her. In addition if she was writing a profession letter what on earth is she getting all cosy and intimate by stating the letter is also ‘on behalf of Archie and Lili – notice she is not calling her Lillibet, the Queen’s nickname – and Harry. Poor old Harry has come last’.
Prince Charles is known to have written to several US Presidents over the years, including Joe Biden, and also sent the so called ‘Black Spider Letters’ to British government ministers and politicians over the years, but never in the same public way as Meghan’s missive to Schumer and Pelosi.
Meghan says in her letter she ‘grew up on the $4.99 salad bar at Sizzler’ and meals at the ‘The Old Spaghetti Factory’ chain restaurants. She also details how she had to work at the local frozen yogurt shop from the age of 13 just to make ends meet and, when she was older, to fill up her car.
But critics have pointed many families couldn’t afford to eat out at all and that Meghan attended a prestigious private nursery and kindergarten called Little Red Schoolhouse which starts at $18,800 a year for kindergarten and $22,600 year for sixth-grade, paid for by her father Thomas, who she no longer speaks to.
Meghan’s reference to Sizzler has been seized upon on social media, with users labelling her comments as ‘out of touch’ and questioning what relevance the statement has to maternity leave.
The Duchess has suggested she had to struggle to make ends meet as a youngster and that $4.99 salads from Sizzler was one of her family’s few options, but Twitter users pointed out many families don’t have the money to eat out whatsoever, and sprang to the defense of the salad bar.
Royal commentator and former editor of International Who’s Who, Richard Fitzwilliams, told MailOnline: ‘Using the example of the $5 salad bar and how she had to struggle in the past is an attempt to link with the way so many families struggle to pay their bills.
‘Aspiring politicians use these sort of examples and it remains to be seen, since she was privately educated and her father was one of Hollywood’s top lighting directors, whether the audience she seeks are impressed by her account of how she had to struggle. She and her father are estranged as she is at the moment from the royal family. The issue she highlights is undoubtedly an important one, but many will sense a ruthless streak in her behaviour which needs moderating if she were ever to seek election’. He added: ‘What, I wonder, is Harry’s future in all this? An autobiography at the end of next year won’t be helpful to mending his relations with his family. Meghan is where she is because she married into the royal family. It will be fascinating to see how, if she chooses politics, people in the US will regard her’.
A source close to the Palace has said Meghan’s intervention is unlikely to cause waves in the UK, as she is unlikely to return to royal duties. ‘She’s an American citizen, highly political and it’s not the first time she’s lobbied using her title. The Palace won’t be shocked at all’, the expert said.
Meghan Markle, pictured above with Prince Harry and her first born Archie, made a rare political statement on Wednesday
Meghan Markle said she was writing the letter to House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate majority leader Charles Schumer ‘as a mom’ and ‘on behalf of millions of American families’
The Duchess went on to detail her humble beginnings: ‘I grew up on the 4.99-dollar salad bar at Sizzler,’ she said
The letter was written and sent on headed paper from the couple’s home in Montecito, California
The USA may be among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it does not offer a government-led paid parental leave scheme in 2021.
Instead, seven states, including California, New Jersey and Massachusetts, offer their own individual forms of paid leave for new parents.
Historically, such decisions have been left for private businesses to decide whether or not employees are offered such benefits. Approximately one quarter of American firms offer paid leave programmes.
But in April, President Joe Biden proposed a £163billion package of worker benefits that would see paid parental leave brought in from 2023.
If passed, workers could take up to 12 weeks of absence with their newborn while still receiving up to to two thirds of their pay packet.
The Democrat-backed policy would be funded by increasing tax on the top 1% of America’s highest earners.
The letter pertains to historic legislation moving through Congress, which would make 12 weeks of paid family and sick leave available to most workers as part of new federal policy.
The US is among a handful of nations that do not guarantee paid sick leave or maternity or paternity pay.
While the issue itself is not controversial and is supported by many in the US, Meghan’s very public statement is likely to ruffle feathers and add fuel to speculation that she has political ambitions.
Royal author Ingrid Seward said: ‘If Meghan does have political ambitions then this is just the kind of cause she will pursue’, adding: ‘On this matter I agree with her entirely’.
Meghan insists that the letter was as an American and ‘mom’, not a politician.
She writes: ‘I’m not an elected official, and I’m not a politician. I am, like many, an engaged citizen and a parent.
‘And because you and your congressional colleagues have a role in shaping family outcomes for generations to come, that’s why I’m writing to you at this deeply important time – as a mom – to advocate for paid leave.’
Meghan, 40, claims the Covid pandemic has exposed ‘long-existing fault lines in our communities’ and says ‘millions of women’ have been forced to drop out of the workforce to look after their children as a result of schools and childcare providers being closed.
In one of the most astonishing parts of her letter, she suggests her family were impoverished even though her father was an Emmy award-winning lighting director and she was educated at private school.
She says: ‘I grew up on the $4.99 salad bar at Sizzler – it may have cost less back then (to be honest, I can’t remember) – but what I do remember was the feeling: I knew how hard my parents worked to afford this because even at five bucks, eating out was something special, and I felt lucky.
‘And as a Girl Scout, when my troop would go to dinner for a big celebration, it was back to that same salad bar or The Old Spaghetti Factory – because that’s what those families could afford.’
She also details how she had to work at the local frozen yogurt shop from the age of 13 just to make ends meet and, when she was older, to fill up her car.
‘I waited tables, babysat, and piecemealed jobs together to cover odds and ends,’ Meghan writes.
‘I worked all my life and saved when and where I could – but even that was a luxury – because usually it was about making ends meet and having enough to pay my rent and put gas in my car.’
Meghan’s reference to Sizzler has been seized upon on social media, with users labelling her comments as ‘out of touch’ and questioning what relevance the statement has to maternity leave
The Duchess has suggested she had to struggle to make ends meet as a youngster and that $4.99 salads from Sizzler was one of her family’s few options, but Twitter users pointed out many families don’t have the money to eat out whatsoever, and sprang to the defense of the salad bar
Meghan reflected on her family life after the birth of Lilibet earlier this year, saying: ‘In June, my husband and I welcomed our second child. Like any parents, we were overjoyed. Like many parents, we were overwhelmed’
Meghan Markle lived this home in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles with both her parents and half-siblings Thomas Jr and Samantha until 1983, for the first two years of her life before her parents divorced
After living with her mum Doria, Meghan would later move back in with her father in the 1990s, as Thomas put her through private school. She stayed at the Hollywood property until she left for college in 1999
The former Suits actress, who signed off as ‘Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex’, concluded the letter, by writing: ‘If we’re going to create a new era of family-first policies, let’s make sure that includes a strong paid leave program for every American that’s guaranteed, accessible, and encouraged without stigma or penalty.
‘I know how politically charged things can – and have – become. But this isn’t about right or left, it’s about right or wrong.
‘This is about putting families above politics. And for a refreshing change, it’s something we all seem to agree on. At a point when everything feels so divisive, let this be a shared goal that unites us.
‘So, on behalf of my family, Archie and Lili and Harry, I thank you for considering this letter, and on behalf of all families, I ask you to ensure this consequential moment is not lost.’
The duchess concedes that she and Harry are lucky enough not have had to make ‘impossible’ choices about their work and their family.
‘No family should be faced with these decisions.
‘No family should have to choose between earning a living and having the freedom to take care of their child (or a loved one, or themselves, as we would see with a comprehensive paid leave plan),’ she says.
‘I understand that with everything going on these days, people might find it easy to be apathetic about what’s happening in Washington DC… but with stakes this high none of us can afford to let apathy win.
‘So, on behalf of my family, Archie and Lili and Harry, I thank you for considering this letter, and on behalf of all families, I ask you to ensure this consequential moment is not lost.’
A spokesman for Meghan said she ‘cares deeply about advocating for families in the US and around the world’ and had partnered with three campaign organisations on the issue.
A slice of happy family life: Sitting next to grandmother Jeanette, 12-year-old Meghan tucks into a cake at her cousin Donovan’s birthday party in 1993
Meghan on her 11th birthday with mum Doria in 1992, seen in pictures kept by her uncle Joseph Johnson
The Sussexes have established a new life for themselves in the celebrity enclave of Montecito in California, buying a multimillion-pound home and launching a non-profit foundation.
Harry and Meghan have also signed lucrative deals – thought to be worth well over £100 million – with Spotify and Netflix that have given them the capital to pursue their new lifestyle and public goals.
Last week, MailOnline revealed how Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s move into the stock market will see them work alongside a band of self-styled Wall Street ‘hippies’.
Ethic, a New York-based fintech asset manager, is run by a wealthy British former public schoolboy who starts meetings with ‘gratitude sessions’ where staff thank each other for their hard work and can pet the office dog given the title ‘Chief Smile Officer’.
It is the couple’s latest move in their efforts to build what experts believe could be a $1billion brand in the US after quitting the Royal Family for independence and to earn their own money.
Business experts declared themselves flummoxed at what an ‘impact partner’ is, although the best guess seemed to be a super-charged brand ambassador.
The Sussexes have not said how much of their fortune they have invested in the £1.3billion investment fund, having been introduced to the founders by a mutual friend.
Ethic, which was set up by Briton Jay Lipman – a red-haired Prince Harry lookalike from London now settled in the US having worked for Deutsche Bank – ‘loves hippies’ to invest with them, because the team, several of whom worked for JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, consider themselves hippies too.
Meghan Markle’s 1030-word paid parental leave plea letter in full
Dear Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi,
I’m not an elected official, and I’m not a politician. I am, like many, an engaged citizen and a parent.
And because you and your congressional colleagues have a role in shaping family outcomes for generations to come, that’s how I’m writing to you at this deeply important time – as a mom – to advocate for paid parental leave.
Over the past 20 months, the pandemic has exposed long-existing fault lines in our communities. At an alarming rate, millions of women dropped out of the workforce, staying home with their kids as schools and day cares were closed, and looking after loved ones full-time. The working mom or parent is facing the conflict of being present or being paid. The sacrifice of either comes at a great cost.
For many, this sacrifice goes back furhter than the past 20 months; it’s 20 or 30 years, even longer – decades of giving time, body and endless energy not just in pursuit of the American dream, but simply in the dream of stability.
I grew up on the $4.99 salad bar at Sizzler – it may have cost less back then (to be honest, I can’t remember) – but what I do remember was the feeling; I knew how hard my parents worked to afford this because even at five bucks, eating out was something special and I felt lucky. And as a Girl Scout, when my troop would go for dinner for a big celebration, it was back to that same salad bar or The Old Spaghetti Factory – because that’s what those families could afford to do too.
I started working (at the local frozen yogurt shop) at the age of 13. I waited tables, babysat, and piece-mealed jobs together to cover odds and ends. I worked all my life and saved when and where I could – but even that was a luxury – because usually it was about making ends meet and having enough to pay my rent and put gas in my car.
I expect many of your constituents have their own version of that story. Perhaps you do too. People in our country work incredibly hard, and yet the ask is soft; for a level playing field to achieve their version of a common dream – what is fair, and equal and right. Many of our economic systems are past their expiration date, and as you well know, too many Americans are forced to shortchange themselves when it comes to what matters to them.
In June, my husband and I welcomed our second child. Like any parents, we were overjoyed. Like many parents, we were overwhelmed. Like fewer parents, we weren’t confronted with the harsh reality of either spending those first few critical months with our baby or going back to work. We knew we could take her home, and in that vital (and sacred) stage, devote any and everything to our kids and to our family. We knew that by doing so, we wouldn’t have to make impossible choices about childcare, work, and medical care that so many have to make every single day.
No family should be faced with these decisions. No family should have to choose between earning a living and having the freedom to take care of their child (or a loved one, or themselves, as we would see with a comprehensive paid leave plan).
In taking care of your child, you take care of your community, and you take care of your country – because when paid leave is a right, we’re creating a foundation that helps address mental health outcomes, health care costs, and economic strength at the starting line. Instead, as it stands now, we spend a fortune as a country paying into symptoms rather than causes. I understand that with everything going on these days, people might find it easy to be apathetic about what’s happening in Washington D.C. And then equally, when it feels like your voice doesn’t matter, you tend to use it less often, but with stakes this high none of us can afford to let apathy win.
I’m writing to you on behalf millions of American families who are using their voices to say that comprehensive paid leave should not be a place to compromise or negotiate. In fact, most nations already have paid leave policies in place. Estonia, for example, offers over a year and a half of leave to be shared by new parents. Many other countries have robust programs that give months of time for both parents (birth or adoptive) to be at home with their child. The United States in stark contrast does not federally guarantee any person a single day of paid leave. And fewer than one in four workers has dedicated paid family leave through their employer. I’m sure you agree that if we are to continue to be exceptional, then we can’t be the exception.
The families you represent need your strong leadership. With paid leave on the cusp of becoming a national reality, I trust you will meet this moment. I know you must hear from your constituents about the choices they are facing every day to make ends meet and care for their families.
Paid leave should be a national right, rather than a patchwork option limited to those whose employers have policies in place, or those who live in one of the few states where a leave program exists. If we’re going to create a new era of family-first policies, let’s make sure that includes a strong paid leave program for every American that’s guaranteed, accessible, and encouraged without stigma or penalty.
I know how politically charged things can – and have – become. But this isn’t about right or left, it’s about right or wrong. This is about putting families above politics. And for a refreshing change, it’s something we all seem to agree on. At a point when everything feels so divisive, let this be a shared goal that unites us.
So, on behalf of my family, Archie and Lili and Harry, I thank you for considering this letter, and on behalf of all families, I ask you to ensure this consequential moment is not lost.
As ever,
Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex
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