A pregnant pause for Meghan leaves Harry all on his ownsome
The Duchess of Sussex has succumbed briefly to fatigue, skipping the first of her scheduled events for a Sunday lie-in.
No Meghan?!
Meh.
Who even wants to cover a royal tour without … no, wait!
Here she is, in her consciousness-raising Outland jeans (they’re made to assist Cambodian women rescued from human trafficking) and her white jacket, arriving just in time for yesterday’s lunch with the Prime Minister … but listen, get your looks while you can, folks, because Meghan is proving human.
After a week in which she charmed and thrilled and wowed and slayed with an indefatigable display of cheerfulness, the duchess succumbed briefly to fatigue yesterday, skipping the first of her scheduled events — presenting medals to cyclists competing in the Invictus Games — in favour of a Sunday morning lie-in.
Shall we cut her some slack?
Of course!
Meghan emerged from the horrors that accompany mornings in the first trimester in time for the lunch in Sydney’s Domain, also attended by Kookaburra Kids, whose parents are battling mental health issues; and by Scott Morrison, who was himself reeling from the dizzy spell that was the Wentworth by-election.
But be warned: you may not see much more of Meghan. In a statement, Kensington Palace said the duchess would be cutting things back “slightly” in the final 10 days of the tour, which was meant to include Zika-ravaged Fiji and Tonga; and New Zealand.
But let’s not worry about Harry being all on his ownsome.
Harry’s got friends, among them Posh and Becks (that’ll be the businesswoman, Victoria Beckham, and her house-husband David Beckham, whose chief responsibility these days would appear to be lugging his daughter Harper’s pink backpack around).
They arrived with all four kids yesterday, at least one of whom — Brooklyn — is named for a place Posh went to conceive or carry him, I can’t remember the details.
Shall we look out, mid-2019, for a baby Dubbo?
Also in Harry’s tribe: Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, who met his wife, Mary, at the exquisitely named Slip Inn during the Sydney Olympics. Like Posh, he’s here for sailing events.
Harry also has mates in the Australian team, among them competitor Tyronne Gawthorne, 36, a veteran of East Timor and Afghanistan, who got busy yesterday showing the duke his back tatt; and athlete Ben Yeoman, who in his excitement put a pair of budgie smugglers on his head and asked Harry to sign them.
Harry laughed, and refused to do it, but later put them on over his jeans, an improvement, actually, on how budgies are normally worn, because do you want denim sticking out the edges, or pale legs?
Your choice. Make a good one.
Meghan didn’t talk much, but she did attend the sailing, which — can someone not intervene on this? — involved boarding not one, but two boats. Oh, at three-and-a-bit months pregnant, how she must love those boats on the choppy harbour.
Did she stop smiling?
She did not.
The royal couple is due to travel to Queensland’s Fraser Island today, and guess what was planned for her? A spot of four-wheel driving over rough terrain, and a bit of a bob about on a ferry! Also a few raw scallops for lunch. Nobody’s fault, since nobody knew she was pregnant. You’ll be unsurprised to hear she’s withdrawn from those bits, because: gag, right, ladies? Gag and just keep going.
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