Meghan, Harry’s brolly good show
Nora Ephron or Nancy Meyers or Rob Reiner, all masters of the romantic comedy genre, could not have created a more perfect moment.
Two beautiful people, beaming at one another as he protected her from a downpour, raindrops like diamonds creating a glittering backdrop.
Boy, oh boy – did Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, know exactly how to stage a doozy of a UK comeback.
The photos of the couple arriving at the Endeavour Awards in London on Friday will surely go into the pantheon of iconic shots of the royal family. The love! The glamour! The positively Hollywood-esque perfection of every damn element!
It would have been a powerful image, so resonant with emotion, at any time, but the fact it happened this week made it all the more weighty. Friday’s outing marks the start of the couple's final series of engagements before they officially step down as working members of the royal family on March 31.
Take a closer look at that shot of Harry and Meghan in the rain. Go on, I'll wait. Because, the more I look at them, the harder it becomes to imagine a moment that could more aptly sum up just how big a loss their departure is for the Windsors.
When Lady Diana Spencer joined the royal family in 1981, she thrilled crowds and dramatically rejuvenated interest in, and public support of the monarchy.
Nearly 40 years later, her son Harry told the world that – after nearly 35 years and one now infamous roast chicken – he was set to marry, and the woman he chose brought that same electric, revivifying force with her.
Here was a woman who broke the mould of the sort of woman Windsor blokes have conventionally chosen to conscript into the family – biracial, American, divorced and very successful. Meghan's acceptance by, and absorption into, a 1000-year-old institution seemed to represent a watershed moment of inclusion and positivity.
When Harry and Meghan married and morphed into Sussexes, they were not only a powerful modernising force, they brought something hitherto unheard of to the royal brand – sexiness. I don't just mean their good looks (though dear God they are both certifiable 10s), rather, they made a hoary institution seem like a truly attractive and appealing prospect.
That was dazzlingly on show in London.
Meghan wore a figure-hugging pencil dress by Victoria Beckham,
her hair in the sleekest of ponytails and a much bolder and brighter shade of lipstick than she normally wears. The entire look walked the tightrope between overt sexiness and sophisticated restraint in the most deliciously wonderful way. This was Olympic-level royal dressing.
When Meghan took to the stage to present an award, her glow and smile would have melted the coldest of republican hearts. Likewise, when Harry delivered a speech later in the night, charmingly flubbing his lines and speaking with true passion about supporting veterans, he brought an authenticity and warmth reminiscent of his mother.
Contrast that with William and
Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who are on the tail end of their whirlwind three-day tour of Ireland. They went to Galway and tried their hands at Gaelic football and hurling.
Sure, they were smiley good sports who looked like they were having the jolliest of times. But Harry and Meghan bring a thrilling vitality to the whole royal enterprise.
That is why their mind-blowingly flawless shots reflect just how much of a loss their quitting is for the Queen & Co.
Short of wearing a frock with “Look what you're missing!” embroidered in sequins, I'm not sure the duo could have more perfectly communicated this message.