Getty Images
The Duchess of Sussex has thanked the 72 female UK Members of Parliament for standing in solidarity with her, following an open letter they penned offering their support for her stand against the press.
The open letter, led by UK Labour Party MP Holly Lynch, was released on Tuesday. The following day Holly told ITV reporter Joe Pike Meghan had called her that morning to thank her and the other 71 women who signed the letter of solidarity.
“Here in Westminster, I got a phone call,” Holly tells Joe in a video posted to Twitter.
“It was Buckingham Palace asking me was I available to speak to the Duchess of Sussex. She was calling to thank myself and other women MPs for standing with her, sending the open letter to say we as women in public office absolutely understand what she’s going through, although in very different public roles.
“We stand with her in solidarity to say we shouldn’t be tearing down women in public life through the press or otherwise. Yes, she was pleased to have seen that letter,” Holly adds.
Holly said they also discussed having to both juggle their responsibilities as mums and their public responsibilities while also being in the public eye.
“As a fairly new mum myself, the challenges of both being in the public eye, managing childcare, managing public responsibilities can all be a challenge, so we did discuss that,” Holly shares.
Meghan made a personal phone call to MP Holly Lynch to thank her and the other women MPs for their letter of solidarity. (Image: Getty)
Tuesday’s joint letter posted shared by Holly on her Twitter account begins: “Women MPs from all political parties have put aside our differences to stand in solidarity with the Duchess of Sussex today and are sending her this open letter.
“We wanted to express our solidarity with you in taking a stand against the often distasteful and misleading nature of the stories printed in a number of our national newspapers concerning you, your character and your family.
“On occasion, stories and headlines have represented an invasion of your privacy and have sought to cast aspersions about your character, without any good reason as far as we can see,” the letter continued.
It also called out what they described as “outdated, colonial undertones,” which the women said they cannot allow to go unchallenged, saying although playing different roles they share an understanding of the “abuse and intimidation which is now so often used as a means of disparaging women in public office from getting on with our very important work.”
The open letter follows the rare statement issued by Prince Harry at the tail-end of the Sussexes’ official tour of southern Africa in which he condemned the “ruthless” treatment of his wife Meghan at the hands of the press and announced the couple would be suing the British newspaper The Mail on Sunday for their publication of a private letter Meghan wrote to her father Thomas Markle.
Just weeks later ITV aired the documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, following their tour, which featured rare one-on-one interviews with the couple, with both of them candidly admitting they were struggling with the immense pressure and scrutiny behind closed doors.
