Possible Meghan Markle references have popped up in several movies posing questions about whether Hollywood scriptwriters are making playful links to the royal.
The Duchess of Sussex has been a cultural force, drawing both fans and anti-fans during several years of high-profile interviews and bombshell allegations against the royal family.
The Little Mermaid is the latest movie that critics say has a possible, subtle nod towards Meghan, Kate Middleton and Princess Diana, though the director has denied this. However, it is not the only film to contain that level of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it referencing to the duchess. It is not possible to know whether each moment is deliberate, and any that are will likely be intended as light-hearted asides rather than serious political commentary.
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‘The Little Mermaid’
The 2023 remake of The Little Mermaid is due in cinemas on May 26 and features Halle Bailey as Ariel, the mermaid who must give up her voice to marry a prince named Eric.
Page Six reported that, in one scene, Eric tries to guess Ariel’s name, suggesting she might be “Diana” or “Catherine.” After a negative reaction from the mermaid, he adds: “OK, definitely not Catherine.”
Harry’s mother is Princess Diana and Kate Middleton’s real name is Catherine, though the media outlets have tended to call her Kate. However, director Rob Marshall denied any link when asked by a journalist on the red carpet: “True or false, there’s a little nod to Kate Middleton in this movie.”
“Absolutely false,” Marshall said. “I don’t know where that came from. That’s the most insane thing. There’s no truth to that whatsoever.”
However, Meghan has herself compared her story to Ariel’s in the original version, having said that she was silenced by Buckingham Palace.
In March 2020, Meghan told Oprah Winfrey that she was watching the 1989 version of The Little Mermaid at her and Harry’s Kensington Palace home: “I went, ‘Oh, my god! She falls in love with the prince and because of that, she has to lose her voice.’ But by the end, she gets her voice back.”
Oprah asked: “And this is what happened here? You feel like you got your voice back?” Meghan replied: “Yeah.”
The reference in the 2023 version is arguably even more bizarre if not intentional. It would mean that the scriptwriters picked the exact film referenced by Meghan herself; remade it with the unique selling point that Ariel is now a woman of color marrying a white prince; and then dropped in the names of Meghan’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law in the same breath, all by pure coincidence.
Cinemagoers may want to judge for themselves how negative Ariel’s response is to the suggestion she might be called “Catherine.” However, if it is as hostile as Page Six suggests, then the film even correctly identifies where the hostility lies within those key relationships for Meghan and Harry.
‘M3GAN’
M3GAN tells the story of a little girl called Katie. Her parents have died in a car crash and she is being raised by her aunt, the maker of the AI robot doll of the title, intended to be every child’s new best friend.
Beyond their names, there are two moments that appear to reference the royal family, including a scene in which the M3GAN doll is watching Katie play a make-believe game.
The girl says, “It is I, Princess Katie.” Moments later, she adds, “hey M3GAN, check this out,” and fires an arrow at the doll.
Later in the film, the prototype M3GAN doll is due for a public demonstration. Toy company chief executive David records a promo video that appears to reference a famous quote from the duchess.
As he describes how the doll helped Katie recover from the death of her parents, David says: “Look at that face: that kid’s not just surviving, she’s thriving.”
Meghan Markle’s first interview acknowledging the pressures of royal life came with U.K. channel ITV’s Tom Bradby in October 2019. She famously said: “It’s not enough to just survive something, right? That’s not the point of life. You’ve got to thrive, you’ve got to feel happy.”
And Meghan told Oprah Winfrey in March 2021 how she and Harry were happier having left the royal family: “Now, because we’re actually on the other side, we’ve actually not just survived but are thriving. You know, this… I mean, this is miracles.”
‘Meg 2: The Trench’
The Jason Statham film tells the story of a bald Englishman who, along with other characters, is pursued by a megalodon, a type of giant prehistoric shark that really existed during the same era as the dinosaurs.
Beyond the name and nationality of its protagonist, the film is being released on Meghan Markle’s birthday, August 4.
‘Citadel’
Spy thriller Citadel, on Amazon Prime, makes a more-explicit royal reference when a crime boss compares breaking into an office to getting “between the legs of the Duchess of Cambridge,” Kate Middleton’s title, according to The Sun.
The newspaper noted the show stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas, a friend of Meghan, though there is nothing to suggest Chopra Jonas had a role in writing the script.
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
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