HARRY AND MEGHAN BOOK SHOCK: THERE IS NO WAY BACK FOR HARRY...
Says Andrew Morton, author of Diana biography
Journalist Andrew Morton sent shockwaves through the Royal Family in 1992 with his book Diana: Her True Story. After the princess’ tragic death in 1997, it was revealed that she had been his source. Here, he reflects on the events chronicled in Finding Freedom and what they mean for the monarchy.
Tis now blamed for Harry’s departure in the way Wallis was blamed for the abdication. It’s undoubtedly sexist.
But if William and Harry’s relationship continues down this path, it will be a source of great regret to them both for the rest of their lives.
While there’s no doubt Diana would be very upset and distressed at the way things have turned out between her beloved sons, it’s impossible to ignore the parallels between Harry and his mum. Like Diana, Harry is reckless and impatient in the face of turmoil. When I worked on Diana’s biography, she wanted it to be rushed out in weeks. When the book came out, she had to endure an awful lot of attacks from inside the Royal Family.
She was rather isolated. She wrote to me to say she knew a volcano was about to erupt but she was prepared, because it would give her freedom.
In the end, she was thrilled. Despite the backlash, she told me her only regret was she hadn’t done it sooner.
Harry was similarly hasty over the royal split. He seemed to want to sort out his detached life in 20 minutes.
Sadly, I’m not sure he’ll ever be content with his newfound freedom if he doesn’t reconcile with William.
Diana would understand why Harry and Meghan wanted to get out of what can essentially be a very toxic environment. But, just like Diana,
Harry and Meghan’s popularity was their undoing. To use a footballing analogy, the monarchy wanted them playing in the Championship when all three saw themselves in the Champions League.
You don’t have to be a psychologist to work out there were huge tensions between Meghan and future queen Kate.
Kate spent her childhood in competition with her sister, Pippa. Then along comes an accomplished, confident, popular American woman and she’s fighting for the spotlight again. In that sense, Meghan was Kate’s worst nightmare.
I don’t think Harry or Meghan gave royal life long enough. A perfect solution would have been for them to be the international arm of The Firm, with domestic duties left to William and Kate. Harry has already been open about his mental health battles following Diana’s death but the psychological toll on both men will be huge if they don’t repair their relationship.
The Royal Family has lost out massively, too. If they’d carved out a meaningful role for Harry and Meghan, they’d have had a real chance to modernise. Now it’s like we’ve stepped in the Windsor time machine, back to the pre-Diana days of the 1970s.
Di would be upset, distressed, devastated by sons’ rift ANDREW MORTON ON PRINCES’ RELATIONSHIP