Three days will reveal real state of Harry and Meghan’s marriage

As rumours swirl about the state of Harry and Meghan’s marriage, an upcoming engagement should tell us a lot.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Picture: AFP

I’m pretty sure I’m contractually obligated, like all opinion writers, to at least once every few months wheel out the thread-bare-from-overuse Twain line, “History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.”

So consider this my mandated use, given that we could be about to see one landmark moment in royal history be repeated.

The year: 1992. The place: Seoul. The press: On the hunt. Charles and Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales were in Korea for an official tour, a daft idea given that relations between the pair had gone from cold to nuclear war. By this point in time, Diana so loathed her husband that, according to venerable biographer Anthony Holden, she had initially refused to go on the trip.

But she got on the plane - and it was a disaster from the get go. Such was their evident aversion to each other, the press back in the UK had a field day, nicknaming them ‘The Glums.’ For days, instead of excitable reports about the future of British kimchi imports or the princess’ latest frock, there was only one story: The painfully obvious fact that le marriage Wales was all over, red rover.

Harry is about to embark on an international trip – will Meghan follow? Picture: AFP

Weeks later their official separation was, finally, announced.

So, here comes the rhyming bit – now, 31 years later, another royal trip to Asia could be about to reveal all about the state of another royal marriage. The coming days could tell us a lot about how things are really going for Harry and Meghan.

This week will see Harry and his favourite yoga mat jet off, first travelling to Tokyo for something called the ISPS Sports Values Summit-Special Edition, before three days later he pitches up in Singapore for a polo tournament to raise money for his Sentebale charity.

These outings will likely go as you might imagine: The duke will beam delightedly at sportsmen and women, do his trademark thundercloud routine when in the vicinity of the fourth estate, and manage to wear exclusivley shades of not dark blue, olive or white. (Linen will likely be over-represented in his wardrobe, thus necessitating he or his assistant to come to grips with one of those useless hotel irons.)

‘The Glums’: Charles and Diana in South Korea in 1992. Picture: Princess Diana Archive/Getty

But will his lady wife be there too?

This year has been characterised by an unexplained shift that has seen the Sussexes go from slightly sickly sweet double act to their professional and public lives looking increasingly divergent.

In the last eight months, the Sussexes have appeared at just two events together, both awards shows in New York where one or both of them was in line for a new shiny gong.

It was Harry alone who fronted up to his father King Charles’ coronation in early May, left to face the stony faces and awkward silences of the rest of the royal family.

It was Harry alone who made two trips back to the UK as he continues to wage legal war on some quarters of the press over allegations of historic phone hacking and illegal information gathering.

And it will be Harry alone who will travel to Africa to film a solo documentary for Netflix.

Meanwhile, Meghan has hardly been sitting idly by, tapping her manicured fingers in boredom and wondering why Michelle Obama has not taken her up on her invitation for a tandem bike ride. In April it was revealed that Meghan alone had signed on with Hollywood mega-agent Ari Emanuel, raising the possibility that he will revamp and revitalise her stagnant career like some gung-ho fixer-upper on Changing Rooms.

Since then, aside from a series of pap shots of them out to dinner (at San Vicente Bungalows, a Montecito Sushi joint and a local Italian place reportedly popular with celebs), they have only undertaken one joint charity event together.

Any wonder, then, that there have been... whispers. Whispers and claims that all might not be peachy for the Sussexes, only five years into their marriage.

The Sussexes are “frazzled, fraught and lacking romance,” according to one outlet. Picture: Mike Coppola/Getty

In May, the Telegraph ran a story entitled, “The Sussexes are frazzled, fraught and lacking romance – like any couple with young kids,” which claimed that “the omens are bad as Harry and Meghan seem to be heading in different directions.”

The piece included this clanger: “Such is their independence from each other that the owner of a leading hotel chain in Montecito recently told The Daily Telegraph they have a room set aside for Harry where he occasionally stays on his own.” A source also said that Los Angeles’ exclusive members’ club San Vincente Bungalows, was the duke’s “escape place.”

Still, the same source also said, “They are really happy together … But at the end of the day, they’ve been through a lot and I think they’ve both felt quite ground down by it all.”

In July, RadarOnline went the furthest of all, claiming that Harry and Meghan were “taking time apart” and used the phrase “trial separation.”

Immediately, an insider close to the couple told Page Six of the Radar claim, “It’s not true. It’s literally made up.”

Then last week, we got what looked like Harry and Meghan’s second attempt at a comeback in three months. In quick succession there was a video of them calling the inaugural recipients of support from ​​The Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund – something they have never done when handing out charity dosh.

All smiles for a recent publicity video. Picture: Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund/Vimeo

That very same day, they were papped leaving a local restaurant where they were reportedly celebrating ahead of the duchess’ 42nd birthday – something that has never happened before when it comes to marking her big day.

People magazine was also doing their bit to get a Sussex-naissance going, running a story that offered up a series of defences for things having gone so badly off the rails for Sussex Inc. According to the mag, when it came to their Spotify deal, “they were given no formal lay of the land” and “things moved very slowly on both ends.”

“Some argue Prince Harry and Meghan are being held to a higher standard than others in show business,” the piece claimed.

“With the right projects and people around them … a second act is within reach,” People reported, quoting an insider as saying, “I think within Hollywood, people are rooting for them.”

So … are Harry and Meghan filled to the brim with vim, vigour and enthusiasm for their next chapter? So happy they still leave love notes for one another on the matcha tin? Miserable? Popping off to hotels for breathing room and to drown their sorrows in room service club sandwiches?

Harry and Meghan are five years into their marriage. Picture: AFP

All we have at this point are questions.

What this week represents is the first real public test of how things are truly going for the duke and duchess.

If the 42-year-old and her impeccable wardrobe turn up in Japan, then it would seem we are back to regular programming and everything is business as usual for the couple. (Meanwhile, a Tokyo hotel chef will be having to work out how to make the heart-shaped waffles they have requested as they enjoy a kid-free minibreak.)

But, if the duchess is not by her husband’s side, it will only add kindling to the “bad omen” fire. It might be a quick international jaunt they would have to make sans kidlets, but they have done that before, when they travelled to the UK and the Netherlands last year for what was meant to be a five-day series of charity engagements (Her late Majesty passed away only two days into their trip, meaning they ultimately spent two weeks back in Britain).

So, it’s litmus test time. Will Meghan turn up in Tokyo and Singapore? Will Harry cut a sad, lonely and sweaty figure (Japan is in the midst of a heat wave)? Will love win? And just how will all that linen hold up?

All could be revealed very soon.

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.

Originally published as Three days will reveal real state of Harry and Meghan’s marriage