Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s new nuclear low
As the coronation approaches, royal watchers are wondering just how low the Sussexes will stoop in their bid to stay relevant and cash in on their royal credentials.
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A week is a long time in politics, as a British prime minister famously once said.
And in the fast-moving lives of the Sussexes, a week can provide ample opportunity to pull off some major headline-grabbing and spotlight-hogging moves.
From a shock visit to the UK to the ghost of girlfriends past, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were firmly back in the spotlight this week.
The latest developments in the never-ending Team Sussex soap opera even managed to overshadow King Charles’ and Queen Consort Camilla’s historic first state visit abroad since ascending the throne.
The week began with Prince Harry’s unannounced visit to London, the first time he had been back on home soil since the funeral of his grandmother, the Queen, last September.
As shocked onlookers gawped, the privacy-pleading Prince was all smiles as he arrived at London’s Royal Courts of Justice.
Along with celebrity pal Elton John, the King’s son is part of a group suing Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail, over alleged phone-tapping and privacy breaches.
Despite his repeated talk of security concerns in the UK, the Duke of Sussex was flanked by several burly bodyguards as he breezed into the High Court.
The ex-Army captain even managed to jostle with a hapless photographer who was pushed out of the way by the royal’s security team.
Royal expert and Prince Harry biographer Angela Levin queried why the Duke had made a dramatic entrance through the front door of the building and whether another Netflix-style series — after last year’s explosive Harry & Meghan — was in the making.
“It seems Harry’s presence wasn’t necessary and if he came he could have used a side entrance and not been seen,” Ms Levin tweeted. “What’s he trying to prove? Is it the start of a four day docu?”
During his whirlwind trip to the UK, Prince Harry even managed to drop one of his signature bombshells as the court hearings continued over four days.
He raised eyebrows by revealing that a previously unknown relationship with a secret girlfriend, Laura Gerard-Leigh, crumbled under the strain of intense scrutiny from alleged phone hackers in the early 2000s
According to sources, King Charles was “too busy” to see his wayward son.
The King had been due to be away on Monday on the first official state visit of his reign, but his trip to France was cancelled due to rioting over pension reforms.
By Wednesday, the monarch was heading to Germany for a state visit, ending all hopes of a father-son reunion.
Royal biographer Tom Bower said the King was wise to snub a meeting with his youngest son.
“Prince Harry believes the press should be obedient to him,” he told Britain’s GB News.
“King Charles needs to stand well clear of his son, who is being so controversial and litigation-happy that he is dangerous.”
Any chance of Prince Harry mending bridges with estranged brother Prince William was also out of the question due to the Easter school holidays.
Prince William and wife Princess Catherine had reportedly left Windsor to go on holiday with their children to an undisclosed location.
As the coronation fast approaches, royal watchers are wondering just how low the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will stoop in their bid to stay relevant and cash in on their royal credentials.
“What makes them media marketable is their royal titles, that’s their currency, and they know they need to remain current and marketable for the next Netflix, Spotify or book deal,” royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said.
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