The Queen’s fears for Harry & Meghan
THE PRESSURE IS FEELING ‘HAUNTINGLY FAMILIAR’
Ever since Prince Harry’s marriage to former actress Meghan Markle in May 2018, a photograph of the happy couple has sat on a side table in the Queen’s Audience Room at Buckingham Palace – he in a smart blue suit, she in a figure-hugging dress, both radiating love and happiness.
Now it has vanished. The evidence coming in pictures taken just two days after the couple’s controversial, and revelatory, documentary aired in the UK.
“Could this be symbolic of a wish to remove a disruptive influence from the front line of the monarchy?” asks one mischievous courtier. “Or could it be the Queen trying to protect the privacy that her grandson and his wife so desire?”
It’s unlikely that answers to these questions will be forthcoming, but they do hint at the atmosphere of speculation and concern that has swirled around the royal family since Harry and Meghan’s admissions of pain and vulnerability during their recent African tour – not to mention the hint that the duchess, in particular, is suffering from a lack of support in her new role as a member of the world’s most famous family.
“I haven’t seen anything like it since Charles and Diana’s marriage was unravelling,” the courtier adds. “The clash of traditionalists and modernists, the claims and counter-claims, it’s all hauntingly familiar.”
Perhaps most inflammatory is the suggestion by an anonymous source to US broadcaster CNN that the palace had no idea what to do with the young Duke and Duchess of Sussex – “The institution around the British royal family is full of people afraid of and inexperienced at how to best help harness and deploy the value of the royal couple who have single-handedly modernised the monarchy.”
One senior courtier bites back, “It’s akin to saying that the Sussexes are too good for the royal family, which is extremely disrespectful to everyone who works for, and on behalf of, the Queen and other senior members of the royal family.”
But behind the scenes tensions have been bubbling for some time. Harry and Meghan’s status as the rock stars of royalty, constantly on front pages around the world, has been an uncomfortable reminder of the global obsession with his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales – with jealousy said to be triggered in Prince Charles who has once again found himself upstaged.
He also has a new documentary, Prince Charles: Inside the Duchy of
Cornwall, out and had been on an important tour of Japan. It’s believed he’s not impressed at being pushed out of the limelight.
“The point is that this whole kerfuffle has completely undermined the work he is doing, just as it undermined the work Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge were doing in Pakistan,” says a member of his staff.
“To do it to your brother is one thing. To do it to your father and paymaster is a completely different matter altogether.”
The paymaster mention is telling. Harry and Meghan are partly funded by Charles, who could withdraw financial support at any point – something he is currently resisting.
The staff member adds that, despite having his nose out of joint, Charles is “worrying about Harry in the same way he did Diana” and will “defend his son publicly” if necessary.
“Charles’ concern is being driven out of his love for Prince Harry,” he adds.
“If they [Meghan and Harry] seem fragile in public, it’s worse in private. Meghan is in tears regularly and this brings out Harry’s protective instincts.”
At the same time, defiance is leaking out of the couple’s Frogmore Cottage home, with one friend insisting, “Harry has never been stronger. This is an institution full of people panicked and who potentially look out of touch and may be ultimately to blame for a lack of support.”
In public, Harry and Meghan are doing a good job of rising above the controversy they have created, ticking off a string of engagements before they start a six-week sabbatical in midNovember. They are also continuing to do things their way, underscoring their green credentials by arriving at a conference in an electric car, while Meghan has doled out warm hugs rather than waiting for formal curtseys and has worn a series of eminently affordable chain-store outfits, such as one from Banana Republic at $190 and a dress by African brand Mayamiko for $139.
The biggest bargain was seen at the One Young World summit in London’s Royal Albert Hall on October 22, a plain purple maxi dress from Canadian brand Aritzia reduced to $59 on sale.
Stylist Susie Hasler explains, “By ditching the flashy jewellery and expensive outfits, she’s redirecting the spotlight away from what she’s wearing and on to the issues she’s promoting.”
Even so, their forthcoming break is widely seen as a good thing. “Everyone needs to stand back, take a deep breath, stop sniping and work out what is the best long-term strategy to make this work,” says a friend of Charles.
“Harry and Meghan clearly need a break. If things don’t calm down, I can see them moving abroad and scaling back their royal duties.”
One supporter of this approach is the Archbishop of
Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, who officiated at their wedding and oversaw the baptism of their son, Archie.
“All members of the royal family are under a pressure that none of us outside it can possibly imagine,” the 63-yearold says, pointing out that being a working member of the royal family is a job that should allow for time off.
“They’re not superhuman,” he adds. “You can’t lay that kind of extra burden on people.”
One option to ease the pressure is for the couple to live outside the UK for at least part of the year. Their visit to her mother Doria Ragland (63) for Thanksgiving is being seen as an opportunity to scope out a base in California.
“They both see a second home as an opportunity to be anonymous for a while,” says one of Meghan’s old friends.
“One factor is allowing Archie to grow up with some real privacy and freedom, which could be found more easily away from the UK.
“They also think that the spotlight they can shine on causes near to their hearts will be clearer if they are not competing for attention with the rest of his family.”
The Queen and Charles are both said to be concerned that even a part-time move could pave the way for an exit from royal duties – something neither of them wants.
“They love them and would miss them,” says Charles’ friend.
The Queen is particularly keen to be there for advice and help them through their current difficulties.
“She obviously doesn’t like this type of drama playing out in public,” says one of her circle.
“Her success as monarch has been rising above situations like this. But she is also Harry’s grandmother. She has seen so much in her long life and does not want Harry or Meghan to suffer as his mother did.
“She will do whatever she can to prevent history repeating itself.”