Although it opens the door to a life of privilege and prestige, becoming a royal presents some unique challenges. No matter how insignificant you may think something you’re doing is, it exists under a public microscope.
Everything you do and say as a member of the royal family reflects back on them.
And for that reason, the royal family has some very specific protocols in place for how they want the public to see them.
There’s a sense that your life isn’t completely yours to live anymore.
That drawback to entering this new realm is likely why some on Twitter are suspicious of the intentions behind a photo shoot that followed the birth of the royal baby.
Two days after the birth of Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex showed him to the world in a photo shoot.
As the baby’s birth had been anticipated for months, there was naturally a lot of excitement to be had when he was finally revealed.
However, there was something about the shoot that rubbed some women on Twitter the wrong way.
The road from pregnancy to becoming a new mom is usually a rough, exhausting journey, so it seemed unreasonable that Meghan Markle only had a day to rest before she had to look immaculate for the public again.
In particular, concern centered around the fact that she attended this shoot in high heels.
As HuffPost reported , servers who worked for the Joey Restaurant Group outlined that working in heels did serious damage to their feet when worn for extended periods of time.
That’s bad enough under everyday circumstances, but it can even get more worrying when pregnancy enters the equation.
According to the Mayo Clinic , hormonal changes during pregnancy and the fact that the body retains more fluid while it’s going on can lead to swelling in women’s feet.
It’s also not uncommon for that swelling to show up post-partum.
This picture of Kim Kardashian-West’s feet swelling during her pregnancy went viral for showcasing how big of a difference the swelling can make for pregnant women.
So when the photos of Meghan post-baby came out, people were surprised to see her in high heels.
Some people were just plain impressed, but others didn’t think Meghan herself looked so thrilled to be glammed up and out and about so soon after giving birth.
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Some called for some more comfortable options for her.
I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be upset to see a member of the royal family actually looking comfortable for once, especially right after giving birth.
This was not lost on commenters who had also experienced childbirth.
As one woman reported, after having difficulty walking in even slippers after her child had been born for two days, she marveled at the fact that Markle was already in heels by then.
While some people marveled at her grace, others were concerned.
It is impressive that Meghan was out in those heels looking so relaxed, but some people are concerned that she wasn’t given the option to not do these things.
People online were quick to point out that even though she’s part of the royal family, she’s still human.
Humans might like to rest and not worry about photo shoots after giving birth, or so I’ve heard.
And so, this led some users to wonder whether Markle underwent this shoot of her own volition.
That then led to questions of whether she chose her own footwear and how much of the photo shoot was a result of the couple meeting obligations to royal protocol.
Still, one commenter did point out that women’s well-being and energy levels can vary after giving birth.
After all, she had no issues during a shopping trip taken after spending even less time recovering. It’s entirely possible that Markle’s feet didn’t experience any swelling at the time and she was perfectly happy to show Archie to the world this way.
Still, the questions as to her well-being are worth asking.
