Nigerian Women Questioned Meghan Markle's Ancestry In Resurfaced Video: 'We Are Very Cultured, We Respect'

Meghan Markle previously claimed she's part Nigerian, but some women from the African country questioned her ancestral claims.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex just had a three-day trip to Nigeria. However, following the visit, a clip of three Nigerian women weighing in on her ancestral claim resurfaced online.

The footage was from "The Right Direction" podcast hosted by Lace Iyamu. It featured three Nigerian women -- Josephine Ejele, a U.K. educator; Esosa Edogiawere, a Nigerian marriage counsel; and Rosetta Etemewei, a social worker.

In the episode, they discussed Markle's claim in her "Archewell" podcast in October 2023, where she said she was 43% Nigerian. The three women said they were not convinced.

Ejele said she was "shocked" after hearing Markle's claim and questioned "how far" of her 43% Nigerian ancestry was true. The U.K. educator added that she believed Markle chose Nigeria because she wanted to tap into the good side of Nigerians.

"You want to see the proof?" the host asked.

"Yes! Definitely," Ejele replied.

The host asked the women why they were not welcoming of the idea that Markle was Nigerian like them and whether it was because of her actions or because they liked the royal household. It's not a secret that the Sussexes have a falling out with the royals.

"I think actions tell me she's not a Nigerian," Edogiawere replied. "For example, if a Nigerian girl is lucky enough or whatever, marry into the royal family, I think she would know what to do. I think she would have respected our in-laws because that's the way we were cultured."

She explained, "We have aunties, uncles, we have extended family. She would have respected her extended family, and before you know, a Nigerian woman would have earned the Queen's love and respect that she would start cooking jollof rice within the royal families, and I believed the Queen would have eaten jollof rice before she passed away."

Edogiawere added that the only similarities Markle shares with Nigerian women are her "pretty" look and sense of fashion. However, "other than that, in terms of mannerism, she's completely zero."

Ejele shared the same sentiment. According to her, based on Markle's conduct, she's not a Nigerian because if she were, she would have respected the royal family and its culture.

"You, coming out there just to damage the royal family like that, and then you think, you know everything is fine, and then all of a sudden you're saying you're a Nigerian, you're not a Nigerian," Ejele said.

"Because we have wives who are married to princes in Nigeria, and they don't act this way. Like Edogiawere said, they respect. We are very cultured, we respect, we are mannered. We respect our husband and everything."

Ejele also said that as a woman, Markle should have stopped Prince Harry from quitting his royal duties because she should have known that she would be blamed for it. However, per Ejele, "She didn't; instead, she ran over there, and now she's saying she's Nigerian. No, you're not."

Etemewei also shared the same opinion, noting that she doubted whether Markle was Nigerian. For her, the former actress "chose" to be one of them.

"I think, she just chose to be Nigerian," the social worker said. "However, we are very cultured people. I think Meghan knew what she was going into, and I think Harry would have told her."

She continued, "But she thought she would go in and she would change the narrative. You cannot just go and change the narrative anywhere. Even if our forefathers, even in Africa, you know, to change something that's been there for years for decades, it's going to be difficult. You'll be an outcast, you know, because the question will be, 'Who are you?' So, I think she went into the royal family thinking she's going to change the narrative, and then it just didn't work."

In one episode of Markle's "Archewell" podcast titled "Upending The Angry Black Women Myth" back in October 2022, she revealed that she did a genealogy test and found that she was 43% Nigerian.

"I just had my genealogy done a couple [of] years ago... [I'm] 43% Nigerian," Markle told Nigerian-American comedian Ziwe Fumudoh, the Daily Mail reported. "I'm going to start to dig deeper into all this because anybody that I've told, especially Nigerian women, are like 'What!'"

Markle spoke about her ancestry during her and Prince Harry's recent visit to Nigeria. Markle said she called her mom, Doria Ragland, if she was aware of it. The former actress noted that part of being African-American was "not knowing so much about your lineage [and] your background," so she and her mom were reportedly excited about the discovery.

"What has been echoed so much really in the past day by men and women alike is 'Oh! We weren't surprised when you found out, you were a Nigerian,'" Markle said while speaking on stage at Women in Leadership in Abuja during the second day of their three-day trip to Nigeria over the weekend.

"I say that mostly as a compliment to all of you because what they define as a Nigerian woman is brave, resilient, courageous, powerful, beautiful," she continued. "It is the most flattering thing to be in that company, to be in your company."

Tags

Meghan Markle, Nigeria