Meghan believed she made “relatively uncontroversial” remarks in her efforts to bring attention to the importance of casting a ballot in the upcoming US election, according to a source close to the Duchess of Sussex. They told Finding Freedom co-author Carolyn Durand: “She thought she was saying something relatively uncontroversial, which is people should get involved and vote.
“Then, it gets spun into a whole other thing.”
The source, who was reported in Elle magazine, added both Meghan and Harry “believe in civic action”.
They continued: “The Duke and Duchess believe in civic action, civic duty, social responsibility, and an element of that is participating in the democratic process, so all they have said is that they encourage people to get involved.
“What they’re trying to do with the foundation is link a lot of the issues they believe in and find the connective tissue in all of it and actually find potential solutions.”
Highlighting what Meghan had already touched upon during her second appearance at the Fortune’s Most Powerful Women virtual summit, the source added: “She now feels and admits, as she said the other day, she has to be constantly careful about what she says and stick to what she thinks will not be controversial.
“Even telling people to get involved in the democratic process should not be a controversial subject.”
During her 15-minute conversation at the virtual summit earlier this month, Meghan said she would not feel proud of herself as a mother if she didn’t try to “make the world better” for her son Archie Harrison.
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However, she is now trying to avoid touching upon topic too “controversial” over fears she could put her family “in a position of risk”.
Asked by Fortune’s associate editor Emma Hinchlife whether motherhood had made her braver or more cautious, Meghan said: “It’s interesting because my gut is that it makes you more courageous.
“It makes you so concerned for the world they’re going to inherit, and so the things that you’re able to tolerate on your own are not the same.
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“For you go every single day how can I make this better for him, how can I make this world better for Archie? And that is a shared belief between my husband and I.
“At the same time I am cautious of putting my family in a position of risk by certain things, and so I try to be rather very clear with what I say and to not make it controversial, but instead to talk about things that seem fairly straight forward – like exercising your right to vote.”
Meghan started speaking about voter registration over the summer, when she took part in a series of virtual events to highlight why she considers vital to vote.
In a video recorded for the Time 100 special aired by ABC in September, Meghan also deemed the upcoming vote “the most important election of our lifetime”.
This remark was considered by some royal watchers politically charged and a call to action to oust US President Donald Trump from the White House.
During her latest appearances, Meghan focused her attention on the digital landscape, which is integral part of her and Harry’s foundation, Archewell.
Last week, the pair launched the official website of the organisation.
Albeit bare at the moment, the website explains the meaning behind the name of the foundation and invites whoever wants to know more about the foundation to subscribe to a mailing list.
