Lesson Plan

Objectives:

Students will understand the relationship and struggles of Meghan Markle in the Royal family.
Students will understand the relationship and struggles of Diana Spencer in the Royal family.
Students will analyze and compare the similarities between Meghan’s and Diana’s experiences.

Lesson:

How to be a Princess lesson- showing students how to sit like a princess
- Go on to explain that Diana and Meghan received no help or lessons of any sort and were thrown into the mix
Have a quick open discussion asking students what they know about both Meghan and Diana.
Ask the students about what they know about both of their relationships with the royal family.
- Put emphasis on how just because they were in the royal family does not mean their lives were perfect.
- Showing pictures (photo)

Giving a quick introduction about Meghan and Diana(introduction); Sources (Lawton) (Taylor) -2 mins

Although their time spent with the royal family was 25 years apart, does not mean things have changed in the royal family.
“Meghan Markle said she spoke to one of Diana's friends about the pressures of joining the Royal Family, ‘because it's like who else could understand what it's actually like on the inside”’ (Lawton).
“It should be surprising that the Duchess of Sussex and the Princess of Wales have such parallel experiences. These were two women who entered the royal family with very different backgrounds and at very different points in their lives” (Taylor).
Their relationships with the Royal family wasn’t ideal

Diana Spencer’s struggles with the royal family (Lecture/Video); Sources (Nardino) (“Princess Diana’s speech on depression”)- 5 mins

Diana came from an ideal family, making her seem like the perfect Princess, but her time spent with the royal family was not as idyllic as it seemed.
She felt alone and isolated.
- “After she and Charles tied the knot in 1981, Diana quickly realized that there wasn't a guidebook for adjusting to life inside the palace…’It was isolating, but it was also a situation where you couldn't indulge in feeling sorry for yourself: you had to either sink or swim. And you had to learn that very fast”’ (Nardino).

Diana struggled with self-harm, bulimia, and depression. The Royal family did not support her at all.
- “In an attempt to ‘cope with the pressures’ of royal life, Diana began to intentionally injure herself while dealing with her bouts of depression. ‘Maybe I was the first person ever to be in this family who ever had a depression or was ever openly tearful,’ she recalled, noting that she felt a great deal of support from members of the public, but less so from other royal family members (Nardino).
- Video of Diana speaking out about depression
  - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtE8HTdC2jA

Meghan Markle Struggles in the Royal Family (Lecture/Video); Sources (Collins) (Finn) (“Meghan Markle Says She Had ‘Suicidal Thoughts”)- 5 mins

Meghan Markle’s position in the royal family, being seen as an exciting new shiny toy to the royal family while also receiving backlash.

“A royal marriage is an acquisition, not a merger. In Markle, the Royal Family has found someone who can refresh their corporate culture even while being subsumed by it. Marrying into a family whose identity demands the effacement of your own is a tricky venture in the most straightforward of circumstances” (Collins).
“When other women realized what a royal life would entail, they took off; Markle took on a new country, a new nationality, and a new religion. Her most distinctive attribute may be that she sees becoming Harry's wife as an opportunity” (Collins).

How the Royal family made her feel isolated like she was an outsider just simply living in their world.
- “‘I came to understand that not only was I not being protected, but that they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family, but they weren't willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband,”’ Meghan said” (Finn).

The clip of Oprah and Meghan's interview talks about her suicidal thoughts and lack of support from the Royal family (stop the video at 1:02).
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H8Z4WlBIE8

Similarities of Meghan and Diana’s struggles in the Royal family (Lecture/Conclusion); Sources; (Taylor) (Nardino)

Both felt isolated and unhelped by the royal family with their struggles.
- “Though their stories aren’t exactly the same, Meghan and Diana faced similar scrutiny from the British tabloids, who put their every move under a microscope. Both women even admitted to feeling a lack of support from the institution of the royal family” (Nardino).

“Both women admitted they struggled with self-harm: Meghan had suicidal thoughts. (‘I just didn’t see a solution,’ she said.) Diana, meanwhile, suffered from postpartum depression and cut herself. (‘You felt misunderstood and just very, very low in yourself’)”’ (Taylor).

Although they both came from different backgrounds, they both ended up having very similar experiences in the royal family.
This further shows it doesn’t matter what position they were in during that period in their lives, the royal family still negatively impacted them.
- “It should be surprising that the Duchess of Sussex and the Princess of Wales have such parallel experiences. These were two women who entered the royal family with very different backgrounds and at very different points in their lives” (Taylor).

Bibliography

Lawton, Megan. “Meghan and Harry's Oprah Interview: Princess Diana's Significance.” BBC News, BBC, 8 Mar. 2021. Accessed 14 Jan. 2022.