Nelson Mandela's grandson slams Meghan Markle over comparison to freedom fighter

Meghan Markle comparing herself to Nelson Mandela did not sit well not just with her usual critics but also with the freedom fighter's grandson.

The Duchess of Sussex had shared in her interview with The Cut, that three years ago, she met a cast member of the "Lion King" who compared her wedding to Prince Harry to Mandela's monumental walk of freedom after 27 years in jail.

Meghan Markle recalled how the person pulled her aside and told her, "I just need you to know. When you married into this [royal] family, we rejoiced in the streets the same we did when Mandela was freed from prison."

Nelson Mandela's grandson, Zwelivelile 'Mandla' Mandela, admitted that he was "surprised" at the comparison. He said that his grandfather's release can never be equated to someone's wedding "to a white prince" because it is for a far more serious reason.

"Madiba's celebration was based on overcoming 350 years of colonialism with 60 years of a brutal apartheid regime in South Africa. So It cannot be equated to as the same," he told the Daily Mail.

The African National Congress MP referred to the Duchess of Sussex when he said, "Every day there are people who want to be Nelson Mandela, either comparing themselves with him or wanting to emulate him."

He added, "But before people can regard themselves as Nelson Mandelas, they should be looking into the work that he did and be able to be champions and advocates of the work that he himself championed."

Mandla continued, "We are still bearing scars of the past. But they were a product of the majority of our people being brought out onto the streets to exercise the right of voting for the first time."

He remembered his grandfather spoke for "oppressed minorities, children and women and protracting the most vulnerable people in our society." He advised those who "regard themselves as being a 'Nelson Mandela'" to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and champion the causes that he represented.

Mandla said that Mandela's walk of freedom "was the culmination of nearly 350 years of struggle" in which generations of their people "paid with their lives." He contested that "it can never be compared to the celebration of someone's wedding" including the nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.