Weird detail as Meghan and Harry emerge together in Germany
Meghan Markle has finally appeared in Germany with Prince Harry but there are some weird details in her big outing.
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The duchess has landed. And I don’t even need to tell you which one now do I?
(Sigh. One day my editor will let me devote thousands of words to rhapsodising about my personal numero uno, Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, right?)
Travelling via a brief stopover in the UK (hello irony!) Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex landed in Germany on Tuesday afternoon (local time), four days after husband Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex’s Invictus Games kicked off.
Drum roll please! Dial up spotlights one and two! This is it!
Call it a reset or a hard restart – whatever terminology you fancy – the coming days could well translate to the restoration of the Sussexes after a bruising, bumpy few months. (Which I suppose makes Harry the Charles II of the piece?)
A hell lot is on the line for the duke and duchess in Germany this week, with them finally getting the chance to try to get back on reputational track; to do something to ensure that journalists stop quoting Spotify’s Bill Simmons calling them “f**king grifters” in every story written about them.
In the nearly four years since Megxit, when the couple stalked off to make their own kombucha far, far away from the negative vibes of the Windsor Home Park, the last few months have unquestionably been the duke and duchess’ bumpiest chapter. They have, since May, been dumped, professionally-speaking, mocked, derided, pursued by the paparazzi, seen their popularity sink, had another Netflix series tank and, all the while, still being resolutely ignored by the royal family.
So, if the Sussexes can get this week right, maybe the messes, the court cases, and their years-long palace drubbing attempts might recede into the background, to be replaced by image of the Sussexes’ as the heart-on-their-sleeve, givers-back and charity crusaders they clearly want to be. (And to be seen to be.)
The operative word here though is ‘if’.
Because right off the bat, the goings on over in Germany are already worth a raised eyebrow or two.
See, Meghan landed in Dusseldörf and then, only hours later, appeared with Harry at a reception for 1600 Games athletes and supporters. Lovely stuff, demonstrating once again that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex glowing side-by-side could warm the stoniest of hearts.
So, with the mother-of-two finally in Germany, with the great Sussex revitalisation project underway, what is the one new thing we have learned thanks to the Sussex aides and the journalists on the ground they appear to have been briefing?
The duchess … has made the trip sans hairdresser, make-up wizard or stylist. I know. Brave stuff.
According to the Telegraph, “Aides revealed that Meghan has not travelled with a hair stylist or makeup artist, opting instead to do it herself;” the Sun detailed that “she travelled without a stylist and did her own hair and make-up, sources said;” while the Daily Mail reported that “Aides said Meghan, 42, did her own hair and make-up soon after arriving at her five star hotel in Dusseldorf and got ready for the event in just over an hour.”
And while this might seem like an inconsequential detail, consider, why was anyone busy talking to the media about Meghan’s ability to do her own hair at an event all about wounded veterans and military personnel? And moreover, if aides were highlighting the wonder of Duchess of Sussex putting her own eyeliner on this week, then does that mean that previously she had travelled with some sort of glam retinue, permanently poised just out of shot with portable hot rollers and a coat application of lip gloss?
A strange start indeed.
Then there was the duchess’ brief, reportedly “off the cuff” speech at the Invictus reception.
Last year, while introducing Harry at the opening ceremony, she wasted no time doing some effusive praising of her husband, saying “It is my distinguished honour to introduce someone that I think you’ll all be very excited to hear from. I could not love and respect him more.”
And this time around we got … milkshakes.
“Sorry I’m a little late to the party,” the Duchess of Sussex said. “I had to spend a little more time getting our little ones settled at home and get them to drop off. Three milkshakes and a school drop off and I just landed a couple of hours ago.”
Unfortunately, the cuff-ness here was definitely showing.
Even though it was only a short speech, Meghan showed worrying symptoms of an infliction suffered by her brother in law Prince William, I-itis.
For example: “I just landed a couple of hours ago and I am thrilled that the first event I can do for Invictus is here with all of you. It is amazing and I hear it has got off to a good start so far.”
Or, “I am very proud of the Invictus family that are here …. I can’t wait until one day to bring our kids so they can experience how fantastic it is.”
In fact, Meghan managed to use ‘I’ 11 times in the brief remarks.
(Harry, when he spoke, by contrast urged participants to share photos and phone numbers, saying “This is your chance to connect with each other because everyone here is at a different phase of their healing process, whether as an individual or as a family.”)
Maybe my minor in English is showing but I find it interesting that while the duchess’ intention would seem to have only been to praise the event and the people involved, instead that all got refracted through the lens of her feelings about things.
For the duchess, for someone who gave what I think is one of the best royal speeches in modern history (“I am here with you as a mother, as a wife, as a woman, as a woman of colour, and as your sister”) this Dusseldorf effort was a bit of a bum note. Why make any of this about anything but the incredible men, women and families taking part?
Then there are Meghan’s wardrobe choices.
While the duchess had flown out of Los Angeles wearing more than $10,000 worth of designer pieces, including toting an Hermès scarf and sporting now sold out Valentino flats, for her first Invictus event she chose a $217 Banana Republic shirt dress.
Immediately this situation called to mind the Sussexes’ highly successful Southern Africa tour in 2019 when the former actress wore a series of affordable pieces and eschewed anything designer in a very clever move to keep the focus on the actual work.
Except this time around, as Meghan did some beaming besides Harry in Dusseldörf she was also wearing a diamond pinky ring of mysterious provenance, which is reportedly valued at $96,000. (In 2021 the couple denied the piece had been made using a stone given to them as part of a gift of diamonds from someone in the Middle East.)
Wherever the ring came from, whether the duchess was given it or paid full price, why bust it out now? There is something a little grating, something dissonant, about seeing such an extravagance, such a symbol of the extreme privilege of the Sussexes’ life, in the midst of a massive charitable effort.
Hanging over this week is that the Games could represent something of a swan song for the Sussexes as a double act with it looking like they are hiving off their careers and going off in separate directions.
While the duchess is reportedly set to have a crack at some sort of soon-to-launch online business thingumabob (details are so scant as to be non-existent) the duke’s professional dance card looks pretty much blank. Having done some splenetic venting in return for millions of dollars, where does Harry go from here? Unlike his wife, the duke does not have an agent, some sort of enterprise about to be unveiled and an Instagram account with 128,000 followers and counting.
For now though, Harry is getting the chance to be Ye Olde Royal Harry, delighting children and doing so much hugging that I’m concerned he might pull something. And Meghan? She has a GHD to heat up and their brand to resuscitate. Godspeed.
Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and a royal commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.
Originally published as Weird detail as Meghan and Harry emerge together in Germany
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