New melodrama brews as British royals gear up for title fight
Could the upheaval of the reign of King Charles III depend on a couple of titles for toddlers who have no idea? The Sussexes will have to tread a fine line to avoid being cast adrift from the family entirely.
Could the upheaval of the reign of King Charles III depend on a couple of titles for toddlers who have no idea?
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan barely put a foot wrong publicly during the grieving of Queen Elizabeth II, but their popularity in Britain remains at rock bottom.
Behind the scenes the deep tensions have been papered over temporarily. In the days after Monday’s momentous and pageant-rich funeral of the Queen, King Charles, 73, is now pondering whether to anoint his American-based grandchildren whom he has barely seen – Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1 – as a prince and princess.
Fresh in his mind may be conflicting thoughts: under the letters patent issued by George V in 1917, the grandchildren of the monarch are entitled to be given such a title. The King loves his son. But Charles wants a slimmed-down monarchy and certainly not a pseudo court across the Atlantic that the Sussexes could exploit for their financial gain.
The California-based couple have form, of course. Their wish for “more privacy” in leaving the royal family in early 2020 has resulted in repeated and salacious accusations of trauma caused by the royal institution. Then, needing more footage for their Netflix “love story” documentary, they even began dipping into pseudo royal tours, the most recent of which meant they were in London when the Queen died on September 8.
Courtiers increasingly are suggesting that since the Sussexes are non-working royals who trash the royal institution, wouldn’t it be more appropriate for the Sussex children to be given no title, as Princess Anne preferred for Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, or a lesser title as Prince Edward and Sophie determined for their children, Lady Louise and Viscount Severn, James? In both cases, the parents didn’t want to put undue spotlight on their children.
Within a generation, Harry will be the brother of a king, not the son; Archie and Lilibet will be distant nephew and niece, not grandchildren. Eventually when nine-year-old George becomes king, they will be cousins of the monarch.
But such an idea would be met with unbridled fury in Montecito and give the Sussexes a deep well of anger and resentment from which to plunder for more dollars.
Meghan has already discussed that Archie was denied the title in the first place, not because of established tradition but claiming erroneously it was because he was the first child of mixed race in the royal family.
In the background of all of this debate, the American Twitter-sphere goes into meltdown, claiming any criticism of Meghan is racially based rather than judgments of her behaviour.
The nonsense also includes a nasty and racist hashtag, accusing Meghan’s sister-in-law, Catherine, Princess of Wales, of being a white-based supremacist.
Nonetheless, across the past fortnight the elaborate and precise planning and execution of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral have sharply reminded Harry and Meghan that the 1000-year British royal history is far bigger, much loved and far more important than their self-absorbed complaints. The British admire tradition, certainty and eccentricity; not deceit, taunts and disrespect.
Princess Diana’s former private secretary, Patrick Jephson, told Sky News the royal family wouldn’t wait for Harry and Meghan.
“Harry and Meghan have made their own decision, they’ve gone off to do something else,” he said, “The institution won’t wait for them.”
But if Americans had such a prince and princess it would saddle the children with decades of responsibility and expectation: ironically the same pressure that Meghan, 41, and Harry, 38, fiercely derided in their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey last year, including claims of “genetic pain”.
Without Queen Elizabeth, who grew increasingly more perplexed and upset at their behaviour and threats, the Sussexes have to tread a fine line to avoid being cast adrift entirely. Their public threats as recently as last month – when Meghan announced she had suddenly discovered her journal and that she could say what she liked, having not signed a non-disclosure agreement, and Harry’s upcoming memoirs, of which the royal family have been given no advance copy – are key. A thawing of the frigid relations can occur only amid an atmosphere of trust and openness.
The Sussexes seemingly petulant refusal to bring their children to Balmoral for the Queen’s annual sleepover early last month for all of the younger royals – Harry went off to play polo, Meghan was spruiking her podcasts – when it was obvious the health of the 96-year-old queen was deteriorating has been judged harshly against Meghan’s distress and tear rolling down her face at the funeral. They also had rejected an invitation from the King to spend some summer time at his Birkhall estate near Balmoral.
At the platinum jubilee earlier this year, the Queen dismissed the Sussexes’ plan to have their own professional photographer record the moment she first met Lilibet, who was turning one, fearing exploitation.
At the time Harry and Meghan, who hadn’t been given any of the prime positions on the Buckingham Palace balcony, tootled off home early in a private jet, missing the finale, a pageant on the Sunday when the Queen made a surprise appearance.
They had earlier skipped the Platinum Party at the palace and the Queen’s lovely sketch with Paddington Bear.
But let’s look at the olive branch Charles has extended during this extraordinary time of sorrow.
He expressed his love for Harry and Meghan in his first speech as King.
He positioned Harry and Meghan directly behind him at the state funeral inside Westminster Abbey, so they had a good view of the coffin and would be seen to be embraced by the family, rather than being at the end of the front row next to Princess Charlotte.
He allowed Harry to wear military uniform for the vigil of the Queen’s coffin; he encouraged William and Harry to put aside their differences and greet mourners together outside Windsor Castle.
Yet while Charles was touring the country to impress the continuation of the monarchy, Harry and Meghan “relentlessly’’ pursued Charles for His and Her Royal Highness titles for their children.
There were other niggles, too. Harry, who spent 10 years in the army, should have understood that as a retired army officer he wasn’t entitled to wear military uniform.
When Charles did allow military dress for the lying-in-state vigil, Harry was dismayed to find his uniform arrived without the extravagant trappings of a royal aide-de-camp: the ER initials on the shoulder epaulets and an aiguillettes, the braided cord.
Had he forgotten that last year the Queen had stripped him of all military patronages and he was no longer such an aide-de-camp?
Certainly the Sussexes’ links to the Crown are less secure than what they had been just a few weeks ago, even though Harry, now fifth in line, has moved up a notch in the line of succession.
Charles is even considering reworking the rules around counsellors of state, the next adults in line of succession who can stand in for the monarch in times of overseas duty or illness. While Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Beatrice are counsellors, Charles wants to remove Harry and the other non-working royal, Prince Andrew. The awkward in-out position is causing enormous confusion.
On the day of the Queen’s death, Harry was one of the last of the close family to be told, finally contacted while travelling to Balmoral on a charter plane minutes before the news was released to the world. He was not on the Royal Air Force jet with William, Andrew and the Wessexes, Edward and Sophie, who had arrived hours earlier.
Harry was only in the country for a private event for one of his charities and hadn’t planned any contact with his father, brother or grandmother.
Then there was a mix-up about whether Harry and Meghan should be invited to the state reception. In the end they didn’t go.
All the while, the extended royal family are sick of the Sussex-fuelled melodrama. If there is to be any cracking of the ice, Harry will have to renounce his tell-all book and get it pulped. Meghan will have to hold her silence. The children may even get those titles. But deep down Charles must be pondering: if such a calm descended, how long could such a truce last?
