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Harry and Meghan’s advocacy “violates” royal divorce deal
Reaction, almost all of it hostile, to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s decision to appear in a video encouraging Americans to vote, dominates royal coverage in the U.K. press.
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The brief clip, filmed for the release of the Time 100 list in the garden of their Montecito home, was widely interpreted as showing a Biden bias despite mentioning neither candidate by name. President Donald Trump certainly saw it that way, responding to the clip with a cheap and misogynistic jibe at Meghan, saying: “I wish a lot of luck to Harry, because he’s going to need it.”
The Sunday Times claims that senior royal aides see the intervention as a “violation” of the couple’s divorce deal with the royal family, and are looking at how the royal household might be able to further distance itself from Harry and Meghan.
A royal aide said: “The [royal] family are all wringing their hands, thinking: ‘Where is this going and does this abide by the deal to uphold the values of the queen?’ The feeling is it’s a violation of the agreement.”
Stripping the couple of their HRH titles, however, is seen as unlikely, with a source telling The Sunday Times: “The view at the moment is that you can’t do that to Harry. Even Edward VIII kept his HRH when he abdicated [but], there is a strong view that the family really does need to put more distance between them and Harry and Meghan.”
Friends of Meghan told The Daily Beast this week that the couple had done nothing wrong in urging people to vote, and said they would not be deterred from continuing to campaign for voter participation.
However, a royal source told The Sunday Times: “If Trump is re-elected and makes another visit here, what is the queen supposed to say when her grandson and his wife have effectively campaigned against him? They know the political arena is meant to be absolutely off limits to members of the royal family.”
The new row came after rumors the royals were already pissed off with Harry and Meghan for their deal with Netflix.
“The Duke is not a working member of the Royal Family and any comments he makes are made in a personal capacity,” a spokesperson said.
There were also claims that Harry looked ill-at-ease and “out of his depth,” in the clip, a subjective impression conveniently impossible to disprove, of course.
“It is tragic to see a man who once smiled so broadly looking as miserable and out of his depth as Prince Harry now does. In a few short months, Harry has gone from being a Prince with the chance to use his position to achieve much for Britain, the Commonwealth and the military, to a boy lost,” wrote royal biographer Hugo Vickers in the Telegraph.
“Watching Harry sitting next to her in the election video the couple released this week was wince-making. The Royal family must be above party politics, even more so in a country that is not their own. He has no business talking to the American people about elections, in which he has never voted, as surely he realizes.”
Brits reject Meghan’s political power play
Meghan and Harry’s political interventions seem to be making them unpopular in Britain.
Of 4,174 Britons surveyed by Tatler magazine, 63 percent said that, as a British royal (in name only), Meghan should not be commenting on U.S. politics, 68 percent thought the couple should be stripped of their titles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and 35 percent believed that Meghan wanted to be president one day.
Harry and Meghan’s camp are arguing that to characterize their Time 100 appearance as partisan is just plain wrong, so it’s perhaps worth recapping exactly what was said.
“Every four years, we are told the same thing, that ‘This is the most important election of our lifetime.’ But this one is,” Meghan said. “When we vote, our values are put into action and our voices are heard. Your voice is a reminder that you matter. Because you do. And you deserve to be heard.”
Harry sat beside his wife, and added: “This election, I’m not going to be able to vote here in the U.S. But many of you may not know that I haven't been able to vote in the U.K. my entire life. As we approach this November, it’s vital that we reject hate speech, misinformation, and online negativity.”
Famed feminist, and friend of Meghan, Gloria Steinem told Access Hollywood that Meghan has returned to America to vote, and was cold-calling voters: “She came home to vote. The first thing we did, and why she came to see me, was we sat at the dining room table where I am right now and we cold-called voters... That was her initiative.”
Congratulations!
Sit down, and prepare yourselves for the strangest thing: some simply happy royal news. Princess Eugenie and husband Jack Brooksbank announced her pregnancy in the cutest way possible this week, via Instagram: “Jack and I are so excited for early 2021,” Eugenie wrote, adding a baby emoji.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank are very pleased to announce that they are expecting a baby in early 2021. The Duke of York and Sarah, Duchess of York, Mr and Mrs George Brooksbank, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are delighted with the news.”
Sarah Ferguson said in a statement posted to Twitter: “I am so excited by the news that Eugenie and Jack are expecting their first child. Thrilled for them both and in my 60th year cannot wait to be a grandmother. Welcoming a new baby into the York family is going to be a moment of profound joy.”
George and the very old shark’s tooth
Proving that the royals are still capable of inoffensive photo opportunities, the Sun reported that Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their kids joined famed British naturalist and environmental campaigner Sir David Attenborough for a screening of his new documentary, A Life on Our Planet, about the enviro-catastrophe facing the planet, and strategies to deal with it.
Sir David even brought a 23-million-year-old shark tooth along for Prince George to marvel at. The documentary can be seen on Netflix from Oct. 4.
Making that call
Camilla Parker Bowles, 73, has urged people to “break the silence” in which many older people live, “perhaps with a telephone call to a grandparent, a card to an elderly neighbor or by hosting your very own virtual event.”
Camilla was forced to isolate from her husband at their Scottish home Birkhall after Charles, 71, was diagnosed with the coronavirus in March, and found the experience difficult.
Returning to work
The queen jokes she needs to “be seen to be believed” and will return to public duties for the U.K.’s Veteran’s Day ceremonies in November, “come hell or high water,” according to a report in the Sun. H.M., 94, has been in lockdown at Windsor Castle since March, unable to take part in public engagements but “fully intends” to be at the event in person on Nov. 8, with a source saying, “She’ll be there come hell or high water.”
Background messages
Meghan Markle stunned fans with a surprise appearance on the season finale of America’s Got Talent to support singer Archie Williams. Is it bad to admit we were also deeply intrigued by what appeared to be her carefully curated backdrop?
Sitting on the shelf behind Meghan was a $60 Tubéreuse candle from Diptyque, and some very expensive coffee table tomes including the Annie Leibovitz book, A Photographer’s Life, and The Black Godfather, which follows the story of the American music executive Clarence Avant whose discoveries included Pharrell Williams. The rare edition is available online with one copy advertised on Amazon for $485, but, as it was originally a Netflix show, maybe this was a welcome gift?
Unanswered questions
Brits may be down on Meghan and Harry. Does the same go for American voters? Do Meghan’s ambitions really extend to running for president?
