The strongest hint yet that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are being lined up for a job focusing on relations with the Commonwealth has been dropped in a trailer for a new documentary about the queen, due to screen on British TV screens next week and in America on Oct. 1 (on HBO).
“Fifty-three countries, oh my goodness,” says Meghan in the clip from the documentary which marks her first interview since becoming a royal. “It’ll keep us busy.”
Meghan is clearly talking about the 53 countries which make up the Commonwealth; the preview also shows Meghan casting an eye over her Givenchy wedding dress and its silk tulle wedding veil, which featured a flower from all 53 Commonwealth countries.
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“Ms. Markle expressed the wish of having all 53 countries of the Commonwealth with her on her journey through the ceremony,” Kensington Palace said at the time of the wedding, stating the veil represented, “the distinctive flora of each Commonwealth country united in one spectacular floral composition.”
The two-part documentary, Queen of the World, tells the story of HM’s passion for the Commonwealth—an association of free and independent nations, the majority of which were formerly part of the British Empire, with a population numbering 2.4 billion—and how she is passing on the responsibility to the younger generation. This has been an ongoing process since the queen announced she was giving up long-haul travel in 2012.
The focus on Harry and Meghan is a clear hint that Harry is being groomed to take over as head of the Commonwealth after the next head, Prince Charles. There was some opposition to Charles automatically being given the role, but the queen lobbied hard for him to be given the position.
The documentary will examine “the queen’s role as a figure on the global stage and the baton she is passing to the younger members of the royal family as they continue to build upon the Commonwealth,” according to HBO.
Translation: lots of appearances from Meghan, Harry, William, and Kate.
Also promised is vintage footage from the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s private film archives.
