Meghan Markle Is 'Playing A Role' In Prince Harry Marriage But 'Doesn't Know Who She Is,' Megyn Kelly Claims

US broadcaster Megyn Kelly has accused Meghan Markle of 'playing a role' in her marriage to Prince Harry, arguing on a recent episode of The Megyn Kelly Show that the Duchess of Sussex 'doesn't know who she is' as the couple continue appearing at high-profile public events in the United States.​

The news came after Harry and Meghan, who have previously spoken about wanting a quieter life in the US, were spotted courtside at NBA All-Star festivities at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles on 15 February, a setting that tends to invite cameras as much as basketball.​

What follows is opinion and performance critique rather than anything that can be proved with documents. Kelly's remarks, and the viral clip she was reacting to, have travelled because they flatten a complicated public story into a simple idea that Meghan is acting and Harry is enduring it.​

Meghan Markle And The Courtside Optics

Kelly framed the LA appearance as a contradiction, quipping, 'She recently attended an NBA game and, because she doesn't really like publicity, she sat courtside.' The line lands because it is meant to. Courtside seats are not the sort of thing you choose if you are determined to melt into the background, and Kelly leans into that obviousness.​

From there she zoomed in on a moment that, in the internet's hands, became an entire narrative. In the clip described by OK!, Harry appears to look to his left until Meghan touches his arm to draw his attention, after which he waves at the camera and then turns away again. Kelly supplied her own imagined translation of the gesture, saying, 'You can't miss the, 'Darling, this is the whole reason we're here... Look into the d--- camera and get me my shot. If you're not looking, then they're not looking at me,' before adding, 'That's really what she is saying there.'​

Podcast guest Maureen Callahan pushed the interpretation further by focusing on Harry's expression in a slowed-down version of the footage. 'When you slow it down and you look at the minute he looks straight at the camera, there is a micro pause and his eyes look like he could kill,' she said. Callahan added, 'He looks like he doesn't want to be there and he doesn't want to be engaging with the media.'​

Meghan Markle, Criticism, And The Price Of Visibility

Kelly's broader argument was that anyone who steps into the spotlight has to accept the full package, adoration and hostility together. 'If you put yourself out into the public sphere as a public figure... You have to accept that this is part of the deal... You really do have to know who you are to be able to handle this,' she said, before concluding, 'And I think that is part of the problem with this woman. She doesn't know who she is at all.'​

The conversation also turned to Harry's recent return to the UK, where the report says he testified in his case against the publisher of the Daily Mail over alleged unlawful information gathering. Harry has previously said press coverage caused 'misery' for Meghan. Kelly, however, argued the relationship between Meghan and the British press shifted over time, saying, 'They made her an international star. They loved her in the beginning,' and adding that Harry 'only started to get upset when she started to behave badly, and they wrote about that too.'​

Kelly then reached for a harsher metaphor about Meghan's motives and sense of self. 'I think her problem is she thought that this level of fame and a power marriage would fill the hole, but nothing is going to fill that hole,' she said, calling it 'a black hole of identity inside.'​

Alongside the podcast commentary, An anonymous source's description of the couple's private rhythms in California. The source claimed Harry has embraced being a stay-at-home father and prefers 'school drop-offs and beach days' with the children over Hollywood events, while Meghan, who shares Lilibet and Archie with Harry, is 'widely viewed as the family's primary earner' through media and business ventures.

'Harry has completely recalibrated his priorities,' the source said, adding, 'In many ways, he is 100 percent a house husband, and he is comfortable with that.' The same source also claimed, 'He genuinely dislikes the Hollywood circuit,' and said he would 'much rather be at home in Montecito.'​