Yahoo News Royal Family 'has fallen victim to the culture wars', say experts
Panellists agreed the royals desperately needed to modernise
Watch: Royal Family 'has fallen victim to the culture wars'
Experts have accused the Royal Family of falling victim to the "culture wars" amid the fallout from the Sussexes' departure from the UK.
In a panel discussion on the 'Future of the Monarchy' — hosted by Yahoo News UK's royal executive editor Omid Scobie — journalist and broadcaster Afua Hagan said the monarchy had become more divisive than ever, citing the Windsor's treatment of Meghan Markle and subsequent family estrangement as reflecting a more polarised society.
"The Royal Family have fallen victim to the culture wars - it's presumed if you like Meghan then you're a lefty, if you like Kate then you're right, you vote this way, you vote that way," Hagan said, addressing the panel.
"It's so polarised and you're absolutely right in saying that is not the role of the monarch at all - it is to unify people and they have absolutely done the opposite.
"They have done the opposite in the treatment of Meghan," she added.
She also argued that incoming members of the Royal Family have a history of being treated poorly, referencing media attacks against the Princess of Wales — but said that the institution had taken action on her behalf.
"Let's also not forget how the Royal Family shut that down, it took a while but they did shut it down," Hagan said.
"They did attack Carole [Middleton] as a working-class woman who chewed gum, so they didn't shut it down at all. It went on for years," Robert Jobson, biographer and royal editor of The Evening Standard, interjected during the panel discussion.
"That's exactly what I said," Hagan replied.
"But when they got married they shut it down. But when Meghan and Harry got married the Royal Family didn't shut it down and that was a massive mistake."
Asked whether the royal family's treatment of Meghan and Harry had been perceived particularly poorly by younger people, the panellists agreed that the younger fan base seemed more sympathetic to Meghan and Harry than to the senior members of the family.
Read more: Will Harry and Andrew have a role in the coronation?
'I think they think they were very badly treated, the young people, I speak to my son who is 21 and he says its the way they were treated was appalling he thinks there was racism from the Royal Family and he believes there was not enough done to accommodate them," Jobson explained.
The panellists suggested the Royal Family should be taking advice from younger people who were more likely to have their finger on the pulse of public trends, and also agreed that the monarchy desperately needs to modernise.
Read more articles from Yahoo's 'Future of the Monarchy' panel here
King Charles's core fan base 'are not going to be here forever'
Charles and Camila's friends 'aghast' the king hasn't put arms around Harry and William
King Charles urged to speed up slavery apology: 'How long is this reign going to last?'
Do we bankrupt Great Britain because of our past as an empire?'
And watch the full discussion panel below:
