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‘The Harry and Meghan show’
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle can’t win. Having spent the best part of a year being berated by commentators in the U.K. for their failure to bring their daughter Lilibet back to Britain to meet the queen, the Sun now says that Prince Charles is concerned that if they do bring the kids back for the Platinum Jubilee it will “overshadow” the celebrations.
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A source told the Sun: “Charles wants the platinum jubilee to focus only on the queen. Many are disappointed that Andrew overshadowed Prince Philip’s thanksgiving service and don’t want the Meghan and Harry circus to hijack the Jubilee. This is the queen’s show and should be about her and her 70 years of service rather than Meghan’s fashion, the kids and Harry. They don’t want it to become the Harry and Meghan show. Charles and all the family are agreed on that.”
Queen Elizabeth is no doubt smart enough to understand what her son apparently does not—that a real win at the Jubilee is a united royal family waving from the balcony.
The story broke just days after it was revealed Harry and Meghan had visited the queen at Windsor on their way to the Invictus Games in the Netherlands. The queen reportedly insisted that Harry had to have a meeting with Prince Charles as a condition of Harry and Meghan seeing her.
Richard Kay, the well known society columnist for the Daily Mail, reported that one of the “red lines” to her agreeing to roll out the red carpet for Harry and Meghan was that “Harry would first have to see his father.” Kay said that Harry and Meghan spoke with Charles, who was “anxious” about the meeting, for 15 minutes, with the future king being joined by Camilla half way through.
Kay quoted a friend as saying Charles wants to “keep talking” to Harry, in contrast to the way communications with Diana were cut off. Kay said the meeting with the queen had a “less edgy” atmosphere.
Actors dressed to resemble Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and James Bond parachute into the stadium during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in London on July 27, 2012.
OLIVIER MORIN/AFP/GettyImagesSecret agent
It was the most surprising stunt of the 2012 Olympics, and now it turns out that even other senior royals didn’t know the queen had recorded a James Bond skit and was planning to parachute, via body double, into the London Olympics opening ceremony.
A BBC Radio 4 program, The Reunion broadcast today, marking the tenth anniversary of the event, sees production manager Sam Hunter say, “The queen never told her family she was doing it. That was one of the stipulations, that she agreed to be part of it… So, if you actually see when she comes and she takes her seat, you can see her family go, ‘Ah, nice one.’”
The sketch saw the queen greeting Bond actor Daniel Craig with the words: “Good evening, Mr Bond.”
Executive producer Stephen Daldry also says the government were kept in the dark, saying: “What was hard was that you didn’t really want to say much to the Cabinet because you didn’t know how secure they were.”
Meghan: ‘I could not love and respect Harry more’
Harry and Meghan officially opened the Invictus Games in the Netherlands on Saturday night. Harry kissed Meghan on stage after she gave a moving introduction to him. Both looked glowing; he in gray suit and open-necked shirt and she in a white off-the-shoulder top by Khaite, black trousers, and a gold Cartier necklace.
The event is special to Harry as it supports veterans—he is a former solder himself—and special to the couple, because it was at the 2017 event that they made their public debut as a couple.
Meghan told the crowds: “For each team, my husband and I recognize it has taken a lot to get there both physically, emotionally, not least of which for the Ukraine team who we are all standing by—we talked about it yesterday. Slava Ukraini (‘Glory to Ukraine.’) One thing I know for sure is that every single moment it has taken to get here will be worth it. Because it is here at the Invictus Games that we honor your years of duty on the field and your continued service to your country, to your family and your community off the field.
“Thank you so much for your service and thank you to all of the family and friends that are here that have been supporting you along the way because this is service, this is dedication and this is the Invictus Family. Now it is my distinguished honor to introduce someone that I think you’ll all be very excited to hear from. He has also spent many late nights and early mornings planning for these games to make them as perfect as possible for each of you. I could not love and respect him more and I know that all of you feel the same because he is your fellow veteran, having served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and 10 years of military service. He’s the founder of the Invictus Games, and the father to our two little ones, Archie and Lili. Please welcome my incredible husband, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.”
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex on stage during the Invictus Games The Hague 2020 Opening Ceremony at Zuiderpark on April 16, 2022 in The Hague, Netherlands.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games FoundationHarry said, “Thank you my love,” and told the crowd about Archie’s changing wishlist of ambitions—astronaut, pilot, and Kwazii, a cat-meets-pirate from the Octonauts cartoon. “But I remind him no matter what you want to be when you grow up it is your character that matters most and nothing would make his mum and me prouder than to see him have the character of what we see before us today,” Harry said.
To the Ukrainian competitors, Harry said: “Your bravery in choosing to come and for being here tonight cannot be overstated. You told me yesterday when you decided to join us despite all odds, you said you came to be on this global stage, not simply to show your strength but to tell your truth, the truth, of what is happening in your country. You know we stand with you. The world is united with you and still you deserve more. And my hope is that these events, this event, creates the opportunity in how we as a global community can better show up for you.”
The couple spent the earlier part of the day with children driving mini-Land Rovers, and have been followed throughout their time in the Netherlands by a Netflix camera crew.
Harry began Sunday’s events at the Invictus Games driving himself and Meghan into the main arena flanked by a retinue of five bodyguards, the Mail reported. They are due to watch a series of events today including archery, volleyball and track events.
Harry and Meghan are said to have been given VIP status for their trip to the Hague to support the games, which Harry founded, which enables them to receive enhanced support, but their bodyguards are not armed. Meghan wore jeans and a white top while Harry was similarly relaxed in tan pants and a dark Invictus top.
Meghan is set to fly back to California on Monday.
Queen is a presumed no-show
After a string of cancellations blighting recent royal engagements, the queen appears to be finally conceding to the realities of her age (she turns 96 on Thursday—more on which below), and is to institute a new policy of encouraging the public to assume that she will not attend public events as the new default position.
Palace aides will be hoping that the new policy, which will see her decide only on the day of an event if she will attend, will negate the need for last minute cancellations—such as her decision on Thursday to cancel her appearance at church on Easter Sunday today.
A source tells the Mail: “The assumption must now be that the queen will not be present at events. If Her Majesty does attend, it will be decided on the day and she will be accompanied by another member of the Royal Family.”
The new announcement also seems intended to reduce expectations around the queen’s attendance at this summer’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The queen has been struggling with mobility problems and The Daily Beast understands that she is now using a wheelchair at home sometimes.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Princess Charlotte attend the Easter Matins Service at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on April 17, 2022 in Windsor, England.
Andrew Matthews-WPA Pool/Getty ImagesEaster Sunday church for royals
Prince William and Kate Middleton led the royal show in Windsor today, as both Prince Charles and the queen skipped the high profile Easter Sunday service at St George’s Chapel. The queen was marking the day at a smaller private chapel within the castle, the Evening Standard said. All eyes were on William and Kate, accompanied by their two elder children, George and Charlotte, as they arrived at Windsor Sunday morning, having conveniently enough been absent on a ski vacation for Harry and Meghan’s surprise visit to Windsor earlier in the week. Also in attendance were Sophie and Prince Edward and their children, along with Zara and Mike Tindall.
This week in royal history
Happy 96th birthday to the queen this coming Thursday. She was born on April 21, 1926, at 17 Bruton Street in London. The year of her Platinum Jubilee has brought concerns about her health, an ever-evolving roster of scandals (Prince Andrew, what Prince Harry will reveal in his memoir), but she carries on, doing things on her own terms.
Unanswered questions
What did the queen talk about with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Windsor? What about Charles? Were bridges rebuilt or strengthened? Did Harry offer any kind of reassurance about what his forthcoming memoir contains? Did the visit ameliorate any tensions?
