Let me start by saying: I don’t really care about the British Royal Family. I’m sure they’re lovely people who do a lot of good for the world; I’m just not Royally Obsessed.
That said, I’ve recently found myself sticking up for Meghan Markle. First it was just in my own head, but now I feel the need to publicly say, Please stop telling Meghan Markle not to touch her baby bump.
My unexpectedly pro-Meghan crusade started when I was mindlessly scrolling through Instagram’s Explore page. I clicked on a photo of the Duchess of Sussex because I loved the color combination she was wearing. It was this purple-and-red ensemble, and I maintain that it was a fabulous look. Curious about how this uncharacteristically fashion-forward style choice—that’s not an insult; it’s just a fact that the Duchess and other royals typically stick to more classic pieces—was being received, I clicked over to the comment section.
Instead of “OMG love this!” or “who told her those colors go together??!” I was disappointed to see that a lot of the comments with the most likes were written by people annoyed that Meghan was resting her hand on her bump. “Does she think the baby is going to fall out?” “We get it, you’re pregnant.”
I wondered whether this was an isolated incident, so I did some more digging. Yes, Meghan is often photographed with her hand on her bump, and yes, beneath every such picture there are countless disparaging comments.
