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Meghan Markle Faces Backlash for Showing ‘Depths Of Self-Importance’ in Latest Interview

Critics say Meghan’s Harper’s Bazaar interview shows rising self-importance, as Kirsten Fleming argues the tone felt overstated.

Meghan Markle’s latest interview has stirred a very different kind of debate. The Harper’s Bazaar profile was intended to show Meghan authoring her own next chapter, yet the conversation was immediately hijacked by one peculiar detail: her habit of staging formal introductions. Critics quickly pounced, but the intense reaction speaks volumes less about her personal vanity and more about a calculated, if awkward, strategy to define her professional terms. Her habit of staging formal introductions has royal experts saying the practice bears little resemblance to the protocol it seems to imitate.

The moment that drew the sharpest criticism came into focus when journalist Kaitlyn Greenidge, who wrote the profile, described a house manager announcing ‘Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’ in a quiet Upper East Side home. Interestingly, only the journalist and Markle were present in the room, raising questions about what such a formality was meant to convey. Features columnist Kirsten Fleming argued in her write-up for the New York Post that the moment felt unnecessary, almost theatrical, given most people would laugh if their title were called out in an empty room. However, with Markle, it simply showed “depths of her self-importance.” To Fleming, this theatricality, combined with the Duchess’s insistence that she doesn't "like things that feel overly realized," added to what she saw as an overly curated and insincere public image.

The Harper’s Bazaar feature returned to several stories Markle has shared before. Because of this, Fleming felt that the interview offered familiar themes rather than new insights into what’s happening in Markle’s personal life. She wrote the Duchess "has nothing exciting going." According to Fleming, the Duchess kept a representative present during an interview at the Beverly Hills Hotel “to ensure she’s not misquoted.” In her view, these choices showed Markle’s habit of carefully managing how she appears in public, a line of criticism that culminated in her calling Markle “the duchess of duds.”

Even royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams offered a sharp take, remarking to the Daily Mail that the scene broke clear royal tradition and, as described in the Harper’s Bazaar profile, "would make a wonderful skit in the South Park series." Fitzwilliams pointed out that royal practice is far simpler than the scene suggested. He explained that during official meetings, it is the visitor who is announced, not the royal. As he puts it, “The journalist should be announced to her,” so reversing the order “makes her look silly.” Guidance from Buckingham Palace and etiquette experts also supports these views. Titles are used when speaking to a royal, but it is not typical for a royal to be formally announced in everyday settings. "It speaks volumes, in an interview calculated not to offend, about the importance Meghan attaches to her royal status," he promptly noted.

The debate, which returned earlier this year during an episode of With Love, Meghan, when Markle corrected actress Mindy Kaling, by saying, "You keep saying, Meghan Markle, you know, I'm Sussex now,” highlighting how closely she still guards her royal identity. While critics are not wrong to point out the awkwardness of the announcement, the moment is better understood as the climax of a strategic rigor rather than a simple sign of ego. Having spent years enduring the UK press cycle, the As Ever founder is attempting to create a professional barrier. The formality, while strange, forces the conversation to remain on business, perhaps as a defense against tabloid intrusion.

Fleming pointed out how William and Charles are trying to "pare down the monarchy to make it more relatable," while Meghan Markle seems to be reveling in pomp and stuffy formalities." The tension is undeniable: The Duchess wants her image to be defined by her authenticity as an entrepreneur and mother. Yet her deeply controlled public relations strategy runs the risk of doing the exact opposite—making her look both defensive and unnatural. The core issue isn't whether she's self-important, but how challenging it is to redefine a celebrity when every small choice is magnified by the persistent shadow of the palace.