Lucy Carne: Why won’t Harry learn to keep his mouth shut?
If only Prince Harry would awaken to the fact that his only qualification is that he is royal and with that prestige comes the expectation that he keeps quiet and leaves the political posturing to his wife, writes Lucy Carne.
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Another week, another hostage video, sorry, Zoom lecture from Prince Harry, Duke of Sullenness released from the confines of his Californian mega-mansion.
Long gone is the beaming smile and cheeky charm of the empathetic Harry we once all adored, replaced with a stunned and stuttering prop spouting woke nonsense scripted by his wife.
Whether he is perched like a garden gnome on a bench next to Meghan or propped up by linen cushions, he appears like a victim trapped.
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Blank-eyed and distant, he is more pontificating puppet than prince of hearts.
The latest topic to bully the minions? Racism.
Yes, the man who once dressed as a Nazi and called a fellow soldier “my little Paki friend” and another cadet a “rag head” in videos from his military college is here to lecture us all on how not to be racist.
He earnestly educated us that while London was “celebrated as one of the most diverse cities in the world” when “you get out on the street and you actually talk to people it doesn’t feel as diverse as it actually is”.
By “street” Harry clearly means the Kings Road. Anywhere outside of the privileged stomping ground of Chelsea and it’s not hard to see that two out of every five Londoners are non-white.
It’s what makes London and Britain so incredible.
Seriously, who is advising Harry to speak out?
Last week he naively waded into political commentary ahead of the US presidential elections.
“As we approach this November, it’s vital we reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity,” Harry declared.
It’s impossible not to interpret that as a critique of Donald Trump and thus an endorsement of Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
And from a man who can’t even vote in the US and, due to being a royal, has never voted in a British election.
Could you imagine Prince Fred hectoring Australians not to vote for Scott Morrison? That would go down like flat, warm beer.
For all their obsession with dynasties and the Camelot legend, Americans don’t care for British royal interference in how their country is run. Because, to be blunt: Prince Andrew.
Royals wading even discreetly into politics is contentious and avoided.
It was shockingly controversial when the Queen dared to say, days before the 2014 Scottish referendum, that Scots should think “very carefully about the future”.
As a Europe correspondent based in London for this paper, I remember being asked to seek comment from the Queen on Australia’s first female prime minister.
“The royal family does not comment on politics,” was the sharp reply from Marnie, Buckingham Palace’s legendary Aussie press officer.
And that is what is so very sad about this whole royal saga.
Meghan has exactly what she wanted. It’s an incredible accomplishment and I can’t help but admire her unwavering self-entitlement and self-importance as she sues newspapers and guest speaks for Time and Fortune magazines.
To think, only six years ago she was a supporting actor on Suits and doing the ice bucket challenge with golfer Rory McIlroy.
There is logic to her skipping out of the royal family before she was forced to relinquish her US citizenship – that would have compromised her run at the 2024 presidential campaign, apparently.
Their Netflix deal, reportedly worth $100m, is yet another step in their quest to be the new Obamas (without the Harvard law degrees).
The couple, who moaned they just want privacy, have reportedly been followed by cameras for months for a documentary series, according to The Sun.
Meghan wouldn’t be the first reality TV star to graduate to the White House,
“One of the reasons she was so keen not to give up her American citizenship was so she had the option to go into politics,” a close friend of Meghan’s told Vanity Fair last week. “I think if Meghan and Harry ever gave up their titles she would seriously consider running for president.”
Harry, however, is lost.
His unhappiness is written all over him as he stumbles through his woke word salads about “shared humanity” and “awakening”.
He was convinced he wanted a “peaceful life” away from the pressure of royal duties.
But the minute they lose their Duke and Duchess titles, their appeal dissolves.
The only reason Meghan and Harry are considered influential is because he is the Queen’s grandson and son and brother of a future King. That’s it.
If only he could “awaken” to the fact that his only qualification is being royal, not being Meghan’s husband.
And if only he realised that with his royal position comes an understanding of his true place: leave the lectures and lawsuits to his wife and keep his mouth shut like every good royal should.