Rebellious royals not rare in pages of history

THE latest politico-economic term to be coined from the Palace soap opera is “Megzit”.

Journalists are vying with each other to come up with the most creative historic parallels for a wayward prince and American sabotage of British royal power.

The escapades of Prince Harry (Henry Charles Albert David) – pub crawls with heavy drinking and weed-smoking, strip billiards and Nazi fancy dress, (Hitler sympathisers in the royal family was an irony too true to be funny) earned him an analogy with Prince Hal of Henry IV Part I by Shakespeare aka Bacon, De Vere, Marlowe, Neville, Florio and Lanier (a mixed-race, Jewish woman). There is obvious prefiguring in King Henry IV’S lament “Riot and dishonour stain the brow of my son Harry”.

Both rebellious princes, however, emerged from their war experiences with reputations greatly enhanced. The most popular comparison with royals is Edward VIII and his wife, the American divorcee, Wallace Simpson.

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor chose exile in France. Edward VIII and Prince Harry were extremely popular in their youth, more famous for partying than studying, but after joining the army both became passionate about a military career although complaining about being kept from the front lines.

The problem with most of the historic allusions is that they would be lost on Gen Z. Thanks to academia and the social justice warriors, Euro-centric cultural history is no longer politically correct. Journalists, however, like archers at the Battle of Agincourt, can be described as having a talent for drawing a long bow.

WILLIAM ROSS

Cranbrook.