Harry and Meghan change the future of UK and US relationships
With their recent entree into the election debate, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, have changed the dynamic of future UK and US relationships — both royal and political.
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As Hollywood’s answer to royalty, it’s no wonder the Kardashians resigned when a real prince moved in.
The arrival of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex appears to have proved too much for the former First Family of California.
As the duo reveal more of their showbiz plans, reportedly planning their own reality show as part of a rumoured $US150 million Netflix deal, they are giving Americans what they believed the British Royal Family to be all along; the soap opera to top them all.
But in doing so, are they muddying the waters across the pond — as Brits call the Atlantic Ocean which divides the two countries — for future royal relationships?
Despite having claimed they settled in the US to escape the relentless spotlight of the publicity, last week the newly crowned Reality Royals waded into politics, filming a video urging Americans to vote in the election and “reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity” and generating more global headlines in the process.
It was not received well in the UK. The Palace was quick to distance itself from Harry’s comments, issuing a statement saying: “The Duke is not a working member of the Royal Family and any comments he makes are in a personal capacity.”
US President Donald Trump also voiced his displeasure, telling reporters he wished Harry luck, “because he’s going to need it” and saying of Meghan, “I’m not a fan of hers. I would say this — and she probably has heard that — I wish a lot of luck to Harry, because he’s going to need it.”
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While Harry is no longer a working royal, the unwritten rule is that family members keep out of politics, to maintain the integrity of the Queen’s work around the world. Critics suggest it is problematic for Harry and Meghan to maintain their royal titles and break this rule, particularly when it comes to UK/US relations.
“It’s frankly outrageous for two members of the Royal Family to abuse their positions and embarrass their country in such a shameless way,” thundered Piers Morgan. “Meghan and Harry have now left the Queen with no choice: she must strip them of their titles before they do even further damage,” he wrote in the Daily Mail. “The integrity and neutrality of the monarchy demands it.
“They’ve crossed a massive line which should now have serious consequences for the couple who in wanting their royal cake and the freedom to eat it.”
“It is understandable that Meghan, as a US citizen, should want to get involved with US politics but I question the wisdom of Harry doing likewise, because there is the potential to embarrass the Queen and the Royal Family,” says Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine.
The Royal Family has long tried to maintain a positive relationship with the US, despite history.
America issued its Declaration of Independence in 1776, but the passing of almost 250 years hasn’t dampened the nation’s fascination with the Windsors.
Donald Trump was ebullient in his praise for the Queen on his visit to Buckingham Palace last year, calling her “a great, great woman”. The Queen has met 12 US presidents, including John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. As a princess, she met Harry Truman on an official visit to Washington in 1951, in place of her father King George VI, who was ill and on a state visit in 1957, she met Dwight D. Eisenhower. She returned to the US in 1976 and met Gerald Ford and 1991, when she met George Bush. She also made an official visit to the west coast in 1983 and 2007 when she met George W. Bush. In 2010 she visited Ground Zero in New York.
Royal visits are a crucial part of Anglo-US relations.
George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother’s 1939 visit — as the first reigning British monarchs to set foot on American soil — was vital for US and British co-operation in World War II. And this delicate balance has been maintained ever since.
On a personal level, the royal family has also long had a lot of affection for the States. Even before he met American divorcee Wallis Simpson, Edward VIII was enthusiastic about the country and no wonder — he received a ticker-tape parade in New York in 1919 and partied with debutantes.
As a child he was said to have
fallen in love with the cowboys of the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show and later bought a cattle ranch in Alberta, Canada, where he practised with a
lasso. “America meant to me a country in which nothing is impossible,” he
later wrote.
Relations hit a low point when he abdicated the throne in favour of marrying Simpson.
His Baltimore-born wife was demonised by the British press, while the Queen Mother’s bitter animosity towards her was well known.
Princess Margaret and husband Lord Snowdon showed off a fun side to the usually stoic royals when they cut a swath across the US in 1965, partying with stars from Frank Sinatra and Alfred Hitchcock to Judy Garland.
While debate raged at home about the high cost to taxpayers for what was largely a private visit, Margaret was acknowledged for flying the Union Jack during a state dinner with her dinner with President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife Lady Bird, although it is unlikely she actually influenced financial policy between the two countries as depicted in the most recent season of The Crown.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana were also fans.
When they visited in 1985 they started a royal fever that hasn’t abated since.
Hosted by President Ronald Reagan at The White House, Diana famously danced with John Travolta — her midnight-blue gown forever known afterwards as the Travolta dress.
Charles has continued to make frequent visits and Diana travelled to New York often, which she loved, the final time in June 1997 for a Christie’s auction of her dresses, just weeks before her death. She was even planning on moving there, according to her former butler Paul Burrell, who said, “Diana was also deciding to spend some of her time in America. In fact, the day she died, on her desk were plans of a home in Malibu in California, which she was in the process of purchasing”.
And before Harry and Meghan, Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, also charmed Hollywood, visiting in 2011 for a BAFTA event where everyone from Tom Hanks, Barbra Streisand and Nicole Kidman lined up for a photo opportunity and again in 2014 when they were hosted by Barack Obama.
But now Harry and Meghan have taken up residence in their $14 million Santa Barbara home, it will undoubtedly change the dynamic of future royal visits. Will Charles and Camilla pop in on their next official tour? Or could William and Catherine take a family vacation to California post-pandemic?
It’s unlikely, says Joe Little. “Rarely do official visits overlap with family matters and the royal schedules are usually quite full,” he says.
While the Palace maintains the views of the pair are strictly their own, they have undoubtedly blurred the lines. Should Trump be re-elected, it will certainly be a royal elephant in the room at his next meeting with the Queen. Or maybe, like the pewter horse he did not recall presenting the monarch when she pointed it out at Windsor Castle, he’ll simply forget.