bitchy | Brown: Carolyn Bessette & Duchess Meghan both ‘fell apart’ because of the media

For years, royal commentators have been comparing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to everyone under the sun, and the comparisons are always designed to ensure that Meghan and Harry come out on the unfavorable end. They’re compared to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson). They’re compared to Princess Margaret, Prince Andrew, Kim Kardashian, and on and on. One comparison which I made early in H&M’s relationship was that Meghan seemed like a Carolyn Bessette Kennedy-type figure, and that Meghan actually styled herself (at times) like Carolyn. Well, years later, Tina Brown is now making the same comparison. Only now Meghan should learn some lessons from Carolyn Bessette, who famously hated everything about being married to a Kennedy prince.

Several royal experts believe Meghan Markle could learn powerful lessons from Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s brief life.

“As we’ve seen with Meghan and Harry, there was quite a lot about Carolyn that was a bit ‘Meghanish,’” former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown said in CNN’s new docuseries “America’s Prince”. Brown compared the two women — one who married into America’s “Camelot” and the other to Britain’s royalty. “That [Carolyn] had…wanted in, for all of these reasons. There was glamour and elegance. But that came with so much pressure in terms of…the monster of the media…that she fell apart really.”

“Tina’s words are a warning to Meghan,” British broadcaster Helena Chard told Fox News Digital. “Meghan has the privilege of time to recognize the gems that she has and carefully plan her future. Life is not just about celebrity and… building an empire. Prioritizing her family and finding her authentic self is the way forward,” Chard shared. “Carolyn sadly didn’t have the opportunity to raise children… Meghan has a husband who adores her, two lovely children and a super comfortable and luxurious home. Family is everything.”

“There are some similarities between Carolyn and Meghan,” British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. “I do think they were admired for their glamour. Both were viewed by the fashion industry as the types to admire and follow. They certainly rose to fame by marrying into iconic families. They both experienced media frenzy based mainly on their respective appearances and personalities. It’s difficult for anyone not born into fame to handle the press hounding. They coped differently, though. Carolyn withdrew completely [from the press], which maintained her mystique. In contrast, Meghan went… on a publicity tour [after her royal exit]. Her raw ambition for recognition and admiration backfired on her. At this juncture, the only proper route for Meghan would be for her to lie low. She’ll never do that, though. Everything that [appears to have] meaning for her is the antithesis of service and devotion to duty.”

When Meghan and Harry first sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a televised interview in 2021, Carole Radziwill said she saw parallels between both women. The 62-year-old, who spoke out in “America’s Prince,” was married to late husband Anthony Radziwill, Kennedy Jr.’s first cousin and the son of Lee Radziwill, Jackie Kennedy Onassis’s younger sister.

“I just watched the M&H sit down. Wow,” the “Real Housewives of New York” alum wrote on X at the time. “I love how people say Meghan knew what she was getting into…people said the same thing about Carolyn Bessette when she married into the Kennedy family. You could never know. Meghan said it right, the perception is nothing like the reality.”

[From Fox News]

I forgot that Radziwill defended Meghan – Radziwill was very close to Carolyn in the 1990s, and their husbands were cousins (who were more like brothers). Anyway, there probably are lessons to be learned from Carolyn’s life, but those lessons are not “Meghan should never go out in public again, she should just be quiet!” The whole reason why Carolyn withdrew from public view for a time was because she f–king hated the paparazzi and the gossip industry around the Kennedys. THAT sounds familiar. But beyond that, Carolyn didn’t work because she didn’t have to – John was wealthy. They always act like they’re so appalled that Meghan works because she likes to work and because she’s supporting herself and her family.

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