Real reason Harry and Meghan went to LA fires

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been labelled “disaster tourists” for visiting areas ravaged by fires but there was only one reason behind their visit.

It was a Frenchman who came up with the idea of deja vu but an American and a Brit who are today’s leading cause.

I mean, of course, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex who have been out and about and at It. And by ‘It’, I mean accidentally triggering an internet ruckus, thanks to a habit they cannot kick for love or money or special sticky patches they got from the chemist.

More than five years on since they handed in their Buckingham Palace notice, the Sussexes’ cannot seem to stop royaling. Or doing something that looks very much like it.

With fires having ravaged (and continuing to ravage) Los Angeles, on Saturday the duke and duchess drove a couple of hours each way from their home to serve meals to and to meet with people affected by the Eaton fire.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry meet victims of the Los Angeles fires Picture: CBS

MORE:Celeb homes destroyed in LA fires revealed

During the outing, according to People who somehow found out, the couple “focused on discreetly supporting wildfire relief efforts, witnessing both harrowing stories and strong community spirit.”

The Sussexes, per the magazine, also joined Jennifer Siebel Newsom, California’s First Partner, and Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo, to thank firefighters and police.

Taken at simple face value we have a very well-intentioned couple in their 40s who turned up wearing baseball caps and stricken looks and who handed out hugs (Meghan) and sourced an elderly man a much-need doughnut (Harry).

However, rather than this outing uncomplicatedly leaving everyone feeling nothing but warm and fuzzy sensations in their lower colons, instead the trip has sparked quite the Furore.

On social media, the Sussexes’ critics were quick to condemn Harry and Meghan for supposedly using the ongoing disaster for their own PR purposes.

(Let the record show I am not in this boat.)

The couple could be seen comforting victims of the disaster.z Picture: CBS

MORE: Harry, Meghan’s insane US costs exposed

Then on Monday, 80s star Justine Bateman enjoyed more media attention than she has gotten since the Reagan administration after calling out the duke and duchess for being “disaster tourists”.

Taking to X, Bateman posted: “What a repulsive ‘photo op’ they achieved. They are ‘touring the damage’? Are they politicians now?”

(A Sussex source subsequently shot back, labelling Bateman’s claim “offensive”.) But at the core it boils down to this: When Harry and Meghan stepped out of their bodyguard-driven SUV on Saturday, who were they? In what guise or role were they there?

Stars or quasi-dignitaries? Celebrities or symbols of the crown?

Because while countless other celebrities have been doing their bit by volunteering to help those affected by the fires and donating money, no other Netflix producers were off joining the Governor’s partner and the mayor to express their appreciation to first responders.

That Harry and Meghan care and care hard is not up for a second’s debate, their commitment for showing up for others self-evident, however, for more than five years now after Megxit, the duke and duchess have continued to often operate like they still think they hold some sort of official status.

In August 2020, the Sussexes volunteered at a Los Angeles Baby-2-Baby charity event handing out back to school - but took along their own photographer and handed out shots to the press.

Meghan Markle with mayor of Pasadena Victor Gordo at a home that was destroyed by fires. Picture: Pasadena Star News via Getty

The same scenario played out a month later when they visited a preschool to plant forget-me-nots to mark the anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, again issuing snaps of the otherwise entirely private outing.

In November 2020, to mark Remembrance Day, the duke and duchess made a 260 kilometre round trip to lay flowers on Commonwealth war graves after the late Queen denied the duke’s request to have a wreath laid on his behalf at London’s Cenotaph. Would you believe it - they brought their own snapper along then too.

A series of other distinctly royal-flavoured outings have followed including Harry addressing the United Nations, them visiting military bases in a number of states and even going so far as attending a ribbon cutting in San Diego.

Last year, the Sussexes took their DIY playbook a step further and zipped off for two overseas royal tours they had stapled and hot glue-gunned together themselves, first to Nigeria and then to Colombia.

Recent reports suggest that the duke and duchess have more such outings planned for 2025.

Perhaps the most controversial instance of all this came in May 2022, days after the horrifying murder of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, when Meghan flew in and laid flowers at a memorial.

Her spokesperson said she was there in her “personal capacity as a mother” but then no other horrified parents made interstate trips, as far as has been reported, to express their heartache. (Side note: Working members of the royal family don’t tend to pitch up straight away after a disaster because they don’t want to put any further burden on police resources, which was why King Charles waited several weeks to visit Southport after the murder of three little girls during a dance class last year.)

The duchess places flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Uvalde County Courthouse. Picture: CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP

Nearly every one of these Sussex instances has provoked the same red-in-the-face reactions: On one side a lot of finger-wagging and overuse of the phrase about having their cake and, on the other, a whole lot of impassioned, zealous defending of two people who love doing charity.

Your position on this scale will come down to how you answer one fundamental question:

What exactly are Harry and Meghan?

Who are they when they step out of their very large front gate?

Do you see them as still being intrinsically royal or are they just two people with grand titles who now live round the corner from Katy Perry?

Or both, at the same time? Like quantum royalty, can they occupy two states of being simultaneously?

The thing is that Harry and Meghan don’t seem to not entirely know themselves either.

They have a website that is the home of “The Office Of Prince Harry And Meghan, The Duke And Duchess Of Sussex”, all repro officialdom, and yet are off investing in hair care ranges and making what Netflix has decreed is “reality TV”.

(Does that make them the only known sufferers of Montecitan multiple personality disorder?)

Perhaps though none of this matters.

Harry and Meghan surprised the family of a teacher killed in the Uvalde school shooting. Picture: X / @fuhknjo

One of the most monotonously over-posted quotes on Instagram would have be Maya Angelou’s saying that “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

And clearly Harry and Meghan make those they meet and fetch doughnuts for feel good.

After their Saturday visit, Pasadena Mayor Gordo, said during an interview that the Sussexes’ had “great heart” and said, “They really buoyed the spirits of the first responders”.

In March 2024, years after the news cycle and the world’s attention had long since left Uvalde, the Sussexes’ returned, their Archewell Foundation having helped build a children’s playground and with them having kept in contact with those affected by the tragedy.

Last year they made a surprise visit to the family of teacher Irma Garcia who was killed during the shooting.

“It was such a beautiful experience, they’re so nice and compassionate, very down to earth, humble people,” Garcia’s nephew, John Martinez, said of the duke and duchess during an interview with CNN.

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.