ARMEGGEDDON
Harry and Meghan go nuclear in royal feud and it will reshape how USA thinks of Britain
EVEN the most sceptical observer waiting for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to spill the hot Earl Grey tea over Megxit could not have been prepared for the nuclear bomb the couple detonated this week.
Between them, they blew apart any remaining fairy tale-like fantasies about the British monarchy.
Over their two-hour interview, Oprah Winfrey took viewers on a journey, picking up a cadre of royal victims and villains along the way. She masterfully played both priest and prosecutor, taking the Sussexes into her TV confession box to reveal the monarchy’s alleged sins.
It was a systematic takedown of the House of Windsor as the couple dropped bombshell after bombshell.
Meghan and Harry spoke their truths, claiming they were pushed out by racism, and that bigotry remains very much alive in the UK.
The Duchess discussed how their son Archie would not be given a title or security, saying that “conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born” were being had.
Americans, who take far less interest in the couple than Britain would imagine, are divided in their opinion of the interview.
Many challenged why Meghan didn’t know exactly what she was getting into and believed she should have been thankful for the privilege bestowed upon her.
Admittedly, I myself found her claim she hadn’t researched Harry’s background before she jumped into the relationship, strained credibility. I mean, who doesn’t follow a first or second date these days with a Google deep dive of their prospective new partner?
The Sussexes’ complaints about money being taken away because they were no longer senior royals also landed badly, coming from a couple who live in an £11million LA mansion.
It is said that Britain and America are two nations divided by a common language.
But as millions have now watched Oprah’s interview, more than words question the ‘special relationship’. In detonating their TV bomb, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex cast Britain as a deeply racist nation.
Their claim of racism at the heart of the royal family provided many in the US with a crumb of comfort that America is not the only western nation marinated in bigotry.
Ironically, as the Sussexes made their allegations, George Floyd’s alleged killer’s trial got underway – a black man dead at the knee of a white cop which led to riots across the States.
For some here, that didn’t matter. The crossroads America finds itself at over race has now been overshadowed by the treatment of one of their own in the UK.
Culturally, in my eight years here, I have found Britain and America often poles apart in many ways.
Despite our two nations’ closeness, I cover events thinking to myself, ‘this would never happen back home’.
Whether it be politics, policing or princes, the standard Americans usually look towards Britain for, is far higher. Thanks to these allegations, today the bar is so low a Texas rattlesnake would struggle to get under it.
Many in the US watching the Winfrey interview believe in Meghan – whatever the veracity of her claims.
They see Harry as her prince in shining armour, cementing their love for him for life.
He’s as good as one of them, while the rest of his family should be swiftly sent to the Tower of London. In reality, they are probably neither as callous as their critics say, nor as innocent as they portrayed themselves to Oprah.
Either way, it’s safe to say the royals have been thrown under a red London bus, as far as many here are concerned.
In detonating their TV bomb, the Duke and Duchess... cast Britain as a deeply racist nation