Meghan Markle's Misstep Infuriates Opera Star Danielle de Niese

Like Markle, de Niese is a mixed-race woman who married into “royalty” – opera royalty, that is. The 43-year-old lyric soprano is the wife of Gus Christie, who is the white, upper-crust Executive Chairman of Glyndebourne Festival Opera.

She was born in Melbourne to Sri Lankan-European parents who had migrated to Australia as teenagers. Later, the family moved to the United States, but she now calls England home.

With her mixed-race background, one would think de Niese would find Markle’s experiences relatable, but she actually thinks her claims are “very unsettling.”

She told Daily Mail, “What I think is strange is to get your home country of America to say that the entire country of Britain is racist... I find that very unsettling.”

While she acknowledged that racism is real, she thought it was unfair to generalize.

“It's not to say that racism isn't everywhere, because it is, but I don't think you can tar everyone with the same brush like that,” she said. “To say a whole community of people are racist, that hasn't been my experience.”

De Niese also talked about having a lot in common with Markle, like being “a mixed-race person” and marrying someone who, while not a member of the royal family, was “still part of a big institution.”

However, they have responded to their situations in very different ways.

“I've set out to support my husband and learn about the people around me,” the opera star continued. “I very much set about learning about what happens here. There were people who tried to imply that I was ‘trailblazing’, but I wasn't into that because it feeds the ego.”

De Niese did acknowledge, though, that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s experience is “a complex story” and the public might never really find out what went wrong.