Meghan and Harry’s big move will be anything but easy
We’ve all come back from holiday and found ourselves wishing to go back, but the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to bow out from the royal family will end in tears, writes Angela Mollard.
Rendezview
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rendezview. Followed categories will be added to My News.
In many ways, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are just like the rest of us.
They’ve hived off on a lovely holiday, lazed about, enjoyed quality time with their child and decided that they’d like their lives to be permanently like this, thank you very much.
Who among us hasn’t gazed into the window of a real estate agent’s office while on vacation at our favourite beachside hamlet and dreamt of chucking in the crappy job and “getting a life”?
But we can’t. Reality bites, and it’s back to the commute we go. Because to do otherwise would have consequences.
Meghan and Harry are deluded if they think they can quit the royal family for a quiet and worthy life on the forest-shrouded shores of Vancouver Island.
The couple, who made the bombshell announcement without the knowledge of the Queen, Prince Charles or Prince William, have stated they want to “carve out a progressive new role” and will step back as “senior” members of the royal family. To that end, they intend to become financially independent and split their time between the UK and North America.
As one commentator has remarked, it’s not often someone quits their job to spend less time with their family.
While plenty support a slimmed down monarchy and applaud Meghan’s desire to seek a life where she might, as she put it, “thrive” and not just survive, their decision lacks diplomacy.
The hastily executed “Sussexit” comes sharply on the back of a self-confessed “bumpy” year for the 93-year-old Queen who has had to deal with Prince Andrew’s scandal, and her husband’s declining health.
Indeed, the statement from Buckingham Palace confirms the royal renegades have jumped the gun, with it reading: “Discussions with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.”
The palace is right. And the optics aren’t great.
MORE OPINION: Meghan Markle is the Yoko Ono of the Royal Family
It’s as if Meghan and Harry are flouncing out of the office but still want to retain a desk, job title and photocopier rights.
Presumably they’ll retain Frogmore Cottage, renovated at huge expense to the British taxpayer, but will they continue to tend to the Commonwealth, a role the monarch generously divested to them? And what about police protection, also funded by the taxpayer? They’ll still need to be shielded from the marauding masses if they’re, say, planting a tree in Surrey, but what if they’re on a yoga retreat in Saskatchewan?
As one royal insider noted: “It’s a masterclass in wanting to have your cake and eat it.”
While the pair have an estimated combined worth of about $60 million, they also enjoy a lavish wardrobe habit and trans-Atlantic flights, particularly by private jet, which don’t come cheap.
Then there’s Archie’s schooling – if he’s not going to be thrust into Eton, alma mater to his dad, Uncle Will and a string of British Prime Ministers, then will he be homeschooled? Perhaps the Sussexes will hire a dual-national, mixed-race, multilingual, ambidextrous tutor.
MORE OPINION: Why Meghan and Harry’s step back is a brilliant move
As for how they will earn a living is anybody’s guess. Charities are widely scrutinised for their operating expenses and while Harry’s Invictus Games have been a huge success, both he and Meghan are largely figureheads of their various philanthropic endeavours.
Balancing the books and managing the back end will require an experienced and tactical management and marketing team, the like of which appears to have eluded them to date.
There’s no doubt the Sussexes need their own purpose and function, but the unilateral manner in which they’ve quit does not bode well for a future with one foot in the limelight and one out.
Without royalty, they are just celebrities without a portfolio. What’s more, the House of Windsor has a habit of rendering irrelevant those who betray them. Witness the freezing out of the Duke of Windsor when he abdicated the throne to be with Wallis Simpson and the blanking of Sarah Ferguson after her unbecoming sun-lounger antics were made public.
RELATED: Brutal reactions to news Meghan and Harry are stepping back from royal life
Mostly, I fear for Harry. While Meghan is self-made – Prince Charles dubbed her “tungsten” because she is so strong — Harry has ongoing mental health challenges.
However dysfunctional his family may be, his brother has long been his rock. Together they know what it means to be both motherless and heirs to the most famous institution in the world.
Harry’s mistake is not forging a new path for himself, but wilfully turning his back on the one he has always known.
Originally published as Meghan and Harry’s big move will be anything but easy
We’re replacing the kangaroo with this? What a waste of $10m
What happens when you get a self-serving mining billionaire whose fortune depends on the Chinese Communist Party to help rebrand Australia? A national symbol that looks like a COVID-19 cell, writes Miranda Devine.
Sorry for the scare campaign, the planet is fine
When a climate activist apologised for how environmentalists had misled the public over climate change threats, the fearmongers were not happy, especially when Greta is upping her fight, writes Miranda Devine.