If you love The Daily Beast’s royal coverage, then we hope you’ll enjoy The Royalist, a members-only series for Beast Inside. Become a member to get it in your inbox on Sunday.
Harry feared Meghan was going to “dump” him
After a relatively quiet few weeks, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle return to their customary column inch-hogging pole position this weekend. The Times of London reports that Harry feared Meghan would end their relationship if he didn’t make a strong public statement condemning what he felt was the media’s racist treatment of her at the beginning of their relationship, so he ordered his office to do just that, the Times claims.
ADVERTISEMENT
The statement, published in November 2016, confirmed the couple’s relationship, as well as emphatically denouncing elements of the coverage and commentary around it, including “the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.”
A source told the Times: “It did feel like that if the palace was not able to stand up and support his girlfriend, against some of that disgusting coverage . . . then who in their right mind would ever consider entering into a relationship [with him] in the future? He was very exercised about some of that coverage. He definitely felt that if nothing was done to support her, then she would be, ‘I’m not sure this is what I signed up for.’”
Another source told the Times: “He was freaking out, saying, ‘She’s going to dump me.’”
The November 2016 statement, written by Jason Knauf, Harry’s then-communications secretary, read: “Since he was young, Prince Harry has been very aware of the warmth that has been extended to him by members of the public. He feels lucky to have so many people supporting him and knows what a fortunate and privileged life he leads.
“He is also aware that there is significant curiosity about his private life. He has never been comfortable with this, but he has tried to develop a thick skin about the level of media interest that comes with it. He has rarely taken formal action on the very regular publication of fictional stories that are written about him and he has worked hard to develop a professional relationship with the media, focused on his work and the issues he cares about.
“But the past week has seen a line crossed. His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some of this has been very public—the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments. Some of it has been hidden from the public—the nightly legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of papers; her mother having to struggle past photographers in order to get to her front door; the attempts of reporters and photographers to gain illegal entry to her home and the calls to police that followed; the substantial bribes offered by papers to her ex-boyfriend; the bombardment of nearly every friend, co-worker, and loved one in her life.
“Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her. It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm. He knows commentators will say this is ‘the price she has to pay’ and that ‘this is all part of the game’. He strongly disagrees. This is not a game—it is her life and his.
“He has asked for this statement to be issued in the hopes that those in the press who have been driving this story can pause and reflect before any further damage is done. He knows that it is unusual to issue a statement like this, but hopes that fair-minded people will understand why he has felt it necessary to speak publicly.”
Harry and Meghan have denied the Times report. The paper says that “a spokeswoman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex described the sources’ claims as categorically false.”
Harry and Meghan’s Oscars decision
This weekend’s pearl-clutching, how-could-they story about Harry and Meghan comes via the Sun. The paper reports that the couple have been approached to present an Oscar, the pick of which was up to them. The original idea was for them to present Best Actress, but then that was nixed because one of the nominees is Kristen Stewart for role as Princess Diana in the bizarro but fun to watch Spencer. So, the new idea is they’ll present the gong for Best Film.
The controversy, such as it is, is that if they do turn up at the Oscars next Sunday (on March 27), some people will be angry that they are choosing Hollywood glam over family responsibilities, Harry having already made clear he won’t be at his grandfather Prince Philip’s memorial service on Tuesday March 29, apparently due to security concerns.
Harry has, however, said he will be attending the opening of the Invictus Games on April 16 in the Netherlands, just of weeks after the memorial service. That move was said to possibly cause a raising of tension in the royal family, as well as being a “slap in the face” for the queen, according to the Daily Mail’s royal editor Rebecca English. Harry has also made clear he wants to make a personal visit to the increasingly frail queen, possibly with Lilibet, the great-granddaughter named after her who she is yet to meet in person.
A US source told the Sun: “Harry and Meghan were first approached two years ago for the ceremony but politely declined. Obviously they’d be a huge coup this year, and could use their appearance to make an impassioned speech of their choosing, most likely Ukraine. Show producers Will Packer and Shayla Cowan have lined up some amazing A-list names to take to the stage and Harry and Meghan would be the icing on the cake. It’s still up in the air, but in all likelihood—especially in the wake of recent publicity—Harry won’t attend.
“It would be seen as a final kick in the teeth for the royal family if he did — he’s too nervous to fly to London without police protection, but happy to stand up in front of a huge live audience at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Not great optics.”
So will Harry and Meghan resist the flashbulbs next Sunday? We shall see.
Royal support for Ukraine heroes
Prince Harry has released a video chat with two Ukrainian workers of the Halo Trust charity, the mine-clearance organization in support of which Diana famously walked through a minefield.
In the chat, as reported by the Daily Mail, Harry is seen asking the pair, named Olesia and Maryna, how the past couple of weeks have been, to which Maryna responds: “Life has turned upside down. Sometimes it seems to me it’s just a nightmare and I’m going to wake up soon.’
Prince Charles and the queen, meanwhile, are considering if they can help house refugees, with a source telling the Mail on Sunday: “All the households are united in this—the queen, Charles and William—with all three agreed that they should find a practical way to help Ukrainian refugees.
“It means looking at accommodation options in England, including the Duchy of Cornwall, where Charles has a lot of holiday homes, and Scotland, where he has Dumfries House and the queen has her Balmoral estate.”
Queen has lift fitted at favorite Balmoral cottage
Speaking of Balmoral, the queen has a soft spot for Craigowan Lodge, a house in the grounds of the grand Scottish pile where she and sundry royals decamp for the summer months. The Sun reports that the queen has just had a £20,000, wheelchair-friendly lift installed, so she can go upstairs independently when she visits the seven-bedroom stone lodge in April and the summer. The property will also have a new “state-of-the-art intercom system and a string of CCTV cameras.”
A Balmoral insider told the Sun: “For many years we have thought it would be the perfect place for the queen to spend more time when she’s older. It's one of her favorite places in the country. With the proper lift and now this new security, it can effectively be sealed off so she can spend much more time there quietly in her late nineties.”
As previously reported, concerns over the queen’s mobility have increased in recent weeks, with plans being drawn up for her to attend Philip’s memorial service that allow her to be seen in public as she would wish.
The thoughts of Thomas Markle
One person not short of an opinion on Harry’s snubbing of his home country is Meghan’s estranged father, Thomas Markle.
Speaking with Dan Wootton on GB News, Markle was asked: “Can you believe Harry is going to deny the queen the opportunity to meet Lilibet, your granddaughter, who he named after the queen?”
The Sun reports that Markle replied: “I think it’s the cruelest, meanest thing he can do, and I have no respect for this man at all. To not go and honor his grandfather, then not go to the Jubilee, to deny the children to the queen, it is unforgivable.
“And the complaint about security is crazy, they have tons of security around them, he’s just making up excuses.”
Royal resemblance
Prince Harry famously told his friend James Corden he didn’t mind The Crown too much because it was clearly “fiction,” so presumably he will be relaxed to hear that Netflix, with which he and Meghan have signed a reported $100m deal, are casting the parts of Prince William and Prince Harry for the final episode of the blockbuster show, which starts filming later this year.
The directors are “looking for a strong physical resemblance” to the boys when they were aged 16-21, the Sun reports. Netflix said that “no previous professional acting experience” was required.
Princess Anne at 19.
BettmannThis week in royal history
It is exactly 48 years today—March 20, 1974—that there was a kidnap attempt on Princess Anne, as she and then-husband Captain Mark Phillips were being driven down The Mall in London. “Please come out, you’ve got to come”, her would-be kidnapper Ian Ball said to her, to which Anne, then 23, replied: “Not bloody likely!” Anne escaped injury, although her chauffeur and bodyguard and a passing police constable were shot and injured by the armed Ball.
Unanswered questions
Will Harry and Meghan show up at the Oscars? And, if they do, what will they say on stage?
