Welcome to The Royalist—all the latest royal news and gossip with Tom Sykes and Tim Teeman. For Beast Inside members only.
Africa Plan: Harry and Meghan ‘Feel They Have Been Cut Adrift’
An extraordinary plan for Meghan and Harry to move to an African country for two or three years in 2020 has been driven by the tension that has sprung up between Harry and William and their wives, and William’s fear of being overshadowed by his brother, The Sunday Times says today.
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One source is quoted as saying: “People are telling William, ‘Don’t worry. Your influence will grow and Harry’s will fade.’ This is peak Harry.”
Intriguingly the paper says that the move to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor has “been as much an exile as an escape” with a source described as an ‘ally’ saying, “Meghan and Harry feel they have been cut adrift.”
And of course, if Windsor isn’t far enough away there is always Africa: “In some ways it would suit William to get his brother out of the country for a few years and Meghan as far away as possible,” said one friend of the brothers.
“They sent them down to Frogmore to try to keep them out of the limelight for a bit. This is doomed to fail. They are worried that Harry and Meghan are going to establish a totally separate enterprise that nobody can get under control.
“There are discussions in palace circles about how do we harness Harry and Meghan and this tremendous global attention they get. How do we draw them back, because laying down the law and ticking them off doesn’t work at all.”
A concern in palace circles, The Sunday Times says, is that because Meghan sees her future as “being a global humanitarian in the Angelina Jolie mould” there is a fear that the she and Harry may seek to escape completely from William and Kate’s shadow: “More and more friends are worried that they’ll just get on a plane and live in LA and never come back,” said one friend.
Prince Harry has spent a considerable amount of time in Lesotho and previously referred to the country as his second home. He has a good relationship with the impoverished country’s crown prince. He and Meghan have also visited Botswana twice.
In a statement released Sunday, Buckingham Palace said: “Any plans for the Duke and Duchess are speculative at this stage. No decisions have been taken about future roles. The Duke will continue to fulfil his role as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador.”
Harry and Meghan May Want American ‘Manny’
Men of America, if you’re looking for a job and like children and have a penchant for fancy abodes, it may be time to polish up your résumés. Prince Harry and Meghan, report the Daily Mirror, are searching for an American nanny, male or female. Meghan has already instructed a recruitment agency to start the search.
A source told the paper: “Meghan and Harry have clear ideas on how to bring up their children. Meghan was clear in telling recruiters she favors an American over a Brit and wants them to feel part of the family rather than a uniformed member of staff.
“That is important to her, she’s never hidden the fact she is fiercely proud of her American roots. They are keen to explore the possibility of a male nanny.” The worker will earn up to £70,000 a year, depending on experience.
Home and Away
Does Prince William know something we don’t about Meghan Markle’s due date? Again pointing it to being extremely imminent, William is scheduled to arrive in New Zealand on April 25, while on the same day Kate, who is remaining in the U.K., will be at the annual Anzac Day Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey. In New Zealand, William will be meeting survivors of last month’s Christchurch mosque attacks along with their families, first responders and Muslim community leaders.
Royal fashion watch
The Queen and Princess Eugenie attended the traditional Maundy Thursday service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle this week. The Queen was resplendent in very Easter-friendly yellow, while Eugenie was wearing a floral Erdem dress and a small navy blue hat by Juliette Botterilll.
Queen Elizabeth II attends the traditional Royal Maundy Service at St George's Chapel on April 18, 2019 in Windsor, England.
WPA Pool/GettyThis week in royal history
Happy 93rd birthday, Your Majesty! The Queen was born today, April 21, in 1926 by caesarean section at 17 Bruton Street in London’s Mayfair, the home of her maternal grandparents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. And what a life she has had, becoming queen at such a young age of a vast Commonwealth, becoming head of such a glamorous and dysfunctional dynasty, and still doing public walkabouts in her nineties! And still, after all this time, something of an enigma.
Oh, and she has a second birthday, the public one, on the second Saturday in June.
Coming next week
We’re still waiting for the arrival of a royal baby. You?
