Intense media scrutiny of Meghan Marklesa国际传媒檚 extended family has left a sour taste for many Canadian tourists and expats observing wall-to-wall coverage of the impending royal wedding.
The voracious appetite for tidbits on the upcoming nuptials came as a shock to British Columbia tourists Karen and Bill Chandler, who say they were blindsided by reporters during a tour of Windsor Castle on Wednesday.
Rather than recounting the grand splendour of the historic home to more than 900 years of royals, the couplesa国际传媒檚 biggest memory was of journalists and camera crews preparing to cover Saturdaysa国际传媒檚 nuptials.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 crazy up there, itsa国际传媒檚 just crazy,sa国际传媒� Bill Chandler exclaimed Thursday after visiting the historic town where Prince Harry will wed Markle, about an hour and a half from London by car.
sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檙e right in your face.sa国际传媒�
The retirees didnsa国际传媒檛 expect their weeklong whirlwind through London to include a glimpse into the media circus surrounding the much-hyped union of Prince Harry and his California fiancee, but itsa国际传媒檚 a unique memory they will take back with them to Victoria on Sunday.
Itsa国际传媒檚 certainly given Karen Chandler a much more sombre view of what could be in store for Markle once she officially joins the royal family.
sa国际传媒淛ust wandering through the castle I was thinking about how the press had affected Dianasa国际传媒檚 life sa国际传媒� they ruined it,sa国际传媒� she says.
sa国际传媒淛ust the hounding. (But) I believe she probably is better equipped than Diana was, much better equipped.sa国际传媒�
A palpable backlash against unflattering stories about Marklesa国际传媒檚 family history sa国际传媒� and in particular her 73-year-old father Thomas Markle sa国际传媒� appeared to take root Thursday as the bride announced he will not walk her down the aisle as planned.
sa国际传媒淚 have always cared for my father and hope he can be given the space he needs to focus on his health,sa国际传媒� Markle said in a statement released by Kensington Palace.
The elder Markle is said to be recovering from an operation to clear blocked arteries after suffering a heart attack last week.
It was the latest turn in a gossip-fuelled saga that turned sadly dark in recent days. Of late, Thomas Markle has been mired in scandal over photographs of wedding preparations that were reportedly staged.
At least one outlet appeared to step back from mining estranged family members for dirt Thursday, with sa国际传媒淕ood Morning Britainsa国际传媒� reportedly dropping Marklesa国际传媒檚 sister-in-law Tracy Dooley from their wedding coverage.
The morning TV show was widely reported to have hired Dooley and her kids as TV correspondents for its rolling coverage of the ceremony, despite the fact they were not invited and were believed to have had little contact, if at all, with Markle.
And on Tuesday, the same TV show featured a blistering attack on half-sister Samantha Markle, when Piers Morgan accused Marklesa国际传媒檚 half-sister of being a media sa国际传媒渧ulture.sa国际传媒�
History student Clarissa Fehr of Leamington, Ont., says shesa国际传媒檚 been turned off by relentless gossip coverage of the sa国际传媒淪uitssa国际传媒� actress sa国际传媒� a successful biracial, divorced American who is challenging royal traditions on many levels.
sa国际传媒淎 lot of it just terrorizes her character,sa国际传媒� the 22-year-old exchange student says of the coverage shesa国际传媒檚 observed.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 all about her history and what she did to be successful, but then in reality itsa国际传媒檚 kind of what everyone has to do to be successful.sa国际传媒漵a国际传媒�
Fellow exchange student Lauren Johnston agreed, also invoking the tragic death of the late Princess of Wales, who died in a Paris car crash in August 1997.
sa国际传媒淚 feel like the Meghan situation can turn into a Diana situation,sa国际传媒� says the 19-year-old Johnston, studying media and communications on an exchange with her school in Abbotsford, B.C.
sa国际传媒淲e saw what Princess Diana had to go through back when she got married and all the health problems that she had, which is unfortunate.sa国际传媒�
Canadian-born academic Susan Rudy points to a seeming preoccupation with socio-economic class in the British media, detecting an underlying narrative in which Markle is cast as a woman escaping a dark history.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a sad story and shesa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒榚scapedsa国际传媒� that, thatsa国际传媒檚 part of the class story sa国际传媒� that if you escape that, thatsa国际传媒檚 to be applauded, instead of: What would you lose if you lose contact with a particular group like a class-based group?sa国际传媒� says the London, Ont.-born Rudy, who moved to London in 2011.
However, not all British media is like that, shesa国际传媒檚 quick to add.
sa国际传媒淭he thing I like about Britain is that theresa国际传媒檚 an educated press here sa国际传媒� the Guardian, particularly, a person can count on for actual information and facts,sa国际传媒� says Rudy, a senior research fellow in the English department at Queen Mary University of London
Still, there appears to be ravenous demand for salacious stories, notes Johnston, an aspiring journalist.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝e looked online at job opportunities here versus Vancouver sa国际传媒� and print journalism and newspapers here are really prominent, which I think differs from Canada, as well,sa国际传媒� she says.
sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檙e printing newspapers every day so they just need content constantly.sa国际传媒�
Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press
