There’s something about Meghan. The distinct duchess continues to polarise us

March 30, 2026 — 7:30pm

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As a bona fide pop culture enthusiast, I haven’t been able to avoid reading about the coming Australian “tour” by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. The 44-year-old Californian remains one of the most polarising public figures of the modern era.

On balance, the reaction to her every action is incredibly visceral, from clumsily retaining the “duchess” title after actually stepping back from royal duties to the constant plethora of outsider narratives and thousands of self-styled opinions.

The optics haven’t been great – who can forget the cringy Oprah interview; the Markle family dynamic; the seemingly bland Netflix series and docos (sorry, never watched); the personal reinvention to As Ever jam-maker and those pesky reports of behind-the-scenes friction? These are just a few things that have shaped public perception.

For me, this isn’t about taking sides – there are thousands doing that already – but rather unpacking the reasons why public opinion remains incredibly divided on the wife of the king of England’s second son.

The intensity of feeling around her is........

© The Sydney Morning Herald