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Harry and Meghan’s “choices” may mean their royal future is over
Any chance of future royal roles for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is now “dead in the water,” according to royal sources talking to the Daily Mail.
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“It’s solely down to the choices they have made,” a source told the Mail. “There is no anger or animosity [on behalf of the Royal Family]. But every commercial deal that has been done by the Sussexes has been a nail in the coffin of any kind of return to royal life.”
This means that Harry and Meghan’s big-money declarations of independence from the royal family—led by their multi-million deals with Netflix and Spotify—have invalidated their futures as royal family members.
Another source told the paper: “To come back would mean they would have to undo all the commercial tie-ups they have already done, and clearly Harry and Meghan don’t want to do that. That is absolutely their choice and the queen has agreed they can pursue these new careers. But to cap it all, they have bought a house 6,000 miles away, which is an unmistakable statement of intent on their behalf.”
Sources also told the Mail that it was unlikely Harry would be able to get back any of his military roles, which will be a bitter blow to the prince who spent ten years in the army and is incredibly proud of his association with the armed forces. But neither Meghan nor Harry will lose their titles.
The Daily Beast and other publications recently reported that Harry and Meghan wanted a 12-month extension to their “Megxit” probationary period, agreed when they left their senior royal roles last year. That now doesn’t seem likely.
“Harry was told very clearly in January by his grandmother that ‘you work for the monarchy, the monarchy doesn’t work for you,’” one source told the Mail. “And if you can’t accept that, then you need to walk away. Her Majesty was remarkably clear and decisive on that point and has never deviated from it, not once. I think what has evolved this year across the Atlantic has only served to prove her point.”
“The deals they have done since moving to California clearly show the truth of it: they simply had ambitions that were completely incompatible with being members of the Royal Family,” an “insider” told the Mail. “It was their choice to leave and seek their fortunes elsewhere. No one exiled them. Indeed, the queen made clear she didn't want Harry and Meghan to go and that they are still very much-loved members of her family and have her support.
“Harry and Meghan are clearly where they want to be, and good luck to them. But their subsequent career choices have scuppered any chance of retaining even a quasi-official royal role. You simply can’t do both roles without conflict. And contrary to speculation, it was actually a pretty straightforward decision on Her Majesty's behalf.
“The queen knows you can’t have a working member of the Royal Family also being paid millions of pounds by Spotify to tell people to ‘swipe and follow’ their podcast, or encouraging consumers to buy a certain brand of coffee. The two are simply incompatible.”
Queen took “all of two seconds” to nix Harry’s Cenotaph plan
The Daily Mail also reports that the queen personally decreed that a wreath would not be laid in his grandson Prince Harry’s name at the Cenotaph in London to mark Remembrance Sunday last November—and that she made up her mind ruthlessly quickly, taking “all of two seconds” to make up her mind, according to the Mail.
The story is in direct contravention to the original Palace line—that it had been courtiers who had taken the decision to not allow the laying of the wreath without consulting the queen.
“Remembrance Sunday is sacrosanct when it comes to Her Majesty’s diary,” a source told the paper. “It’s one of the most important dates in her calendar and nothing is done without her knowledge. People were suggesting the Palace’s reaction to what Harry asked was petty. But it was the queen’s decision. And what’s more, she actually had very strong views on the subject.”
Another source told the paper: “While she has enormous admiration for Harry’s achievements both in and out of the military, this was seen as an example of his lack of understanding at what it means for him to be a non-working royal. The queen is very firmly of the opinion that you can't pick and choose what you do when it comes to the institution. Either you are in—or you are out.”
Harry and Meghan were photographed at the Los Angeles National Cemetery on that Sunday—and were criticized for staging what many saw as a tacky PR attempt to overshadow the royals’ gathering at the Cenotaph itself.
It was also revealed that the actual wreath that Harry wanted to be laid in his name had been unearthed, languishing in a cardboard box at the Royal British Legion’s Kent HQ.
Senior palace figures hope Meghan will drop her case
Can Meghan find an elegant way to drop her legal case against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday?
Senior figures at the palace certainly hope so, according to a report in The Sunday Times.
There is a possibility that Meghan could get what is known as a “summary judgement” later this month (when the judge decides he does not need to hear witnesses or consider further evidence to pronounce his verdict), but it is unlikely. That will open up the astonishing prospect of Meghan facing off in court against her estranged father, Thomas, because the case centers around Meghan’s claim that her privacy rights were breached when the Mail on Sunday published extracts from a letter she wrote to him in 2018.
The Sunday Times reports that the prospect of that happening is being regarded with increasing horror at the palace, where courtiers are “astonished” the case has even got this far, and that several former Sussex staffers are already preparing to be grilled in the witness box. They are desperate for Meghan to drop her suit “to protect the royal family.”
One courtier told The Sunday Times: “A trial would be traumatic for Meghan and Harry, it will expose palace operations, members of staff would be dragged into it on the witness stands...it would be deeply uncomfortable for the institution.”
The Sunday Times reports on a long-circulating rumor that Harry and Meghan first sought the advice of lawyer Gerrard Tyrrell, who acted successfully for the Prince of Wales after the Mail on Sunday published extracts in 2005 from his private diary, in which he described the Chinese leadership as “appalling old waxworks.” Tyrrell warned the Sussexes not to sue the Mail on Sunday, but that Meghan and Harry ignored his advice.
The trial had been scheduled for this month but was postponed at Meghan’s request for reasons described as “confidential.”
Kate has tried to reach out to Meghan, with no success
The Mail also reports that Kate Middleton and the Countess of Wessex (Sophie, Prince Edward’s wife) have both repeatedly “reached out” to Meghan, particularly after she told ITV’s Tom Bradby how unhappy she was. But their conciliatory overtures were “rebuffed,” the Mail said.
The Mail also says that Prince William and his father Prince Charles have become close. “William has realized that if he is going to make it work, he needs to be more aligned with his father and they need to work as a team,” a source told the paper.
William and Kate have also reportedly grown closer in recent months. The paper said all eyes would be on William and Harry if they are reunited for Prince Philip’s 100th birthday in June, and then the unveiling at Kensington Palace of the memorial statue to their mom, Princess Diana. “If the two brothers can make that work, then we have hope,” a source told the Mail.
Going live
Harry and Meghan’s new Archewell website went live this week, featuring a huge picture of Diana with Harry as a baby on her shoulders. A second picture shows Meghan with her mom, Doria.
The use of the picture of Harry with Diana, and the fact that the website makes absolutely no mention of either Harry or Meghan’s father, has attracted the ire of some critics.
A syntactically awkward joint statement from the couple on the website’s landing page, entitled a ‘letter for 2021’ reads: “I am my mother’s son. And I am our son’s mother. Together we bring you Archewell. We believe in the best of humanity. Because we have seen the best of humanity. We have experienced compassion and kindness, From our mothers and strangers alike. In the face of fear, struggle and pain, it can be easy to lose sight of this.
“Together, we can choose courage, healing, and connection. Together, we can choose to put compassion in action. We invite you to join us. As we work to build a better world. One act of compassion at a time.”
Veteran royal journalist Phil Dampier told the Daily Mail it was “very significant” that Harry “called himself his ‘mother’s son’ but made no mention of Prince Charles.”
Charles walked Meghan down the aisle on her wedding day when her father did not attend.
The website listed five organizations Harry and Meghan said they have chosen to support. They include: the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University; the Center for Humane Technology in San Francisco which aims for “safer, more compassionate online communities;” the Loveland Foundation, which offers mental health support to Black women and girls; the Center for Critical Internet Inquiry at the University of California in Los Angeles, which champions racial and economic justice in the technology world, and chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen, which is building four community relief centers in regions affected by hunger, starting in Dominica and Puerto Rico.
This week in royal history
Can it really only be a year since Harry and Meghan quit the royal family? Why yes! On January 8, 2020, the royal couple published their bombshell website which said they were planning to “step back” from frontline royal duties. The website laid out a comprehensive vision of how they would like their roles to be configured going forward—but they have instead been completely cut out of the royal family’s public life.
Unanswered questions
How bad will this be? Meghan’s estranged sister Samantha Markle is due to release her long-trailed memoir, The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister Part 1, on January 17. The book promises to “tell the hidden truths about her family, as a royal fairy tale plummets from the tea towels,” and describes Markle, who is in a wheelchair and suffers MS, as a “squeaky wheel” who is “no stranger to challenges or tenacity.”
