Although it would be hard to reach this conclusion from reading any of the thousands of articles of negative copy the couple have generated, when Prince Harry fell in love with Meghan Markle, the royal family – and Britain more broadly – was gifted manna from soft-power heaven.
As well as her vast, obvious qualities (often demanded by such roles), Meghan also brought something less obvious: Blackness – a quality that could not have been more historically potent, given the circumstances.